Consider The Sparrows

APR 03 / Sunday – Read Read Matt 10:28-31/ Luke 12:6-7 / Matt 6:25-27

Overview: When we seek to eliminate our worries by controlling others it leads to disaster.

04 / Mon – Worry  |  Read Matthew 6:25-33

Anxiety comes in many forms. Usually it starts with a concern about something in the future that might possibly happen. It can be based on past experience and may seem credible. But what morphs a legitimate concern into the sin of worry is an erroneous belief that we are able to control our own future, if we just do or say the right thing or make better decisions. Is this always the case? When you see something that is out of your control, what can you do to relieve anxiety?

05 / Tue – Sparrows  |  Read Matthew 10:28-31 / Romans 8:32

Have you ever stopped to consider how God feels about sparrows? Probably not. That’s why Jesus used them to make a very important point about your value to God. He loves and cares for all he has created. But God cares the most about the people he has made. He knows more about you than you do yourself. If God didn’t spare his own Son to reconcile you to himself, is there anything you need that he won’t also provide?

06 / Wed – What are you afraid of?  |  Read Job 3:25 / Job 42:1-6

Job was blameless in God’s eyes and a prosperous man who had status, wealth and many children. But he had worries too. After Job’s calamities fell upon him, he made this statement in v. 25. Even though he lost more than most of us will ever have, Job still found God to be enough. What is your story? Have you or someone you know suffered great loss in some area of life but found something precious that could not be taken away?

07 / Thu – A realistic view of life  |  Read John 16:33

There are a lot of ‘shoulds’ we grow up with and internalize. Life should be good most of the time. Maybe there’ll be a few bumps along the way but nothing we can’t handle. Life should be fair. Work hard and you’ll be prosperous. Raise your children well and they’ll have good lives too. Be faithful to the Lord and he will pour out blessings and spare you from difficulty. But when something bad happens, you face a choice. Will you be undone by it or will you trust the Sovereign God anyway?

08 / Fri – I got this  |  Read Proverbs 3:5-8

One thing most people are usually confident in is their understanding of a situation. You are smart, right? When something goes wrong, you can problem solve and get things going again. What does God say here to this line of thinking? What does it mean to ‘lean’? Why is this posture unwise? What does God promise when you do your part? Where might you be able to apply this verse today?

09 / Sat – Fear can blind you  |  Read John 11:45-50

Fear can lead a person to control things at any cost. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew their position with Rome was precarious. Israel’s history was a series of being conquered, removed from their homeland, and returning only to be conquered again. Fearing Jesus was causing a rebellion that would destroy the fragile security they had achieved with their enemies, they totally missed what God was doing and devised their own ‘logical’ solution. Is fear keeping you from seeing what God is doing? Things are not always as they seem (2 Corinthians 4:18).