“Where is my hairbrush?”

Why worry, when you are bald?

This is the first of four devotions that will briefly take us away from the trip west. Though some of these devotionals may still reflect the trip, the emphasis will be focused on why Jesus came on our planet 2000 years ago, and will be a reflection on how awesome He really is. With Christmas around the corner, why not focus on the real reason for the season? Why not take a few moments to admire what Jesus has done for us?

I returned from our trip completely exhausted. That’s what driving for more than 12,000 kilometers will do for you! But there would be no rest, no time to recover. With school due to begin in just one week and my classroom still untouched, it was immediately back to the grind.

To be very honest with you, I was still trying to recuperate from the trip when school started. The two-hour change from Mountain Time to Eastern Time made a huge impact on my biological clock (I sure wish it was digital instead of analog!). In fact, even now, four weeks later, I am still waking up in the middle of the night thinking it is time to get up. I take advantage of such episodes to pray and read my Bible, and after fifteen minutes my heart is at peace and I fall asleep again; but this break in my sleep pattern is still taking its toll on me.

Amazingly however, it’s not affecting my teaching. When in the classroom, I am so full of energy that my colleagues ask me where I get it all from. If they only knew! It’s when I leave school that I suddenly feel exhausted, and that’s pretty amazing! It doesn’t seem to matter if I’m leaving immediately or two hours later, I’m fine until I get into my car to return home.

This doesn’t really surprise me all that much. Why not? Because I have left my worries (especially my energy levels) with my Maker. He is the One who sustains me, and thanks to Him, I can reach out to my students instead of falling asleep over them. It’s a good thing too! Can you imagine the parent complaints?

Jesus made it clear that we have nothing to worry about: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” (Luke 12:22-23 NIV) The fact that worrying does not resolve anything makes one wonder why we even bother worrying. Life is much more than worries. Think about it, do you remember what you worried about two years ago? What about 1 year ago, or even last month?

I used to be a worrier (not a warrior-that is something completely different!) And in fact, I graduated with a PHD in that specialty. Its tentacles still get me sometimes, but as long as I concentrate on Jesus, it evaporates right from sight.

Jesus gives us several reasons why we have nothing to worry about:

1. If God can take care of ravens, He can take care of us as well! (See Luke 12;24)

2. Can worries add even an extra hour to our life? No! In fact it robs us from real living! (See Luke 12:25-26)

3. Lilies are been taken care off by God, even though their life span is short. Even more so will our Heavenly Father take care of us! (See Luke 12:27-28)

4. If we worry instead of trusting our Father in Heaven, we are no different than the unbelievers. (See Luke 12:30)

5. God knows exactly what we need, even better than we do, as our cravings aren’t always the healthiest kind! (See Luke 12:30)

6. He has given us His kingdom. He willingly died for us so that we could experience true freedom. We are important to Him. Why worry if we have someone who cares so much for us, who is able to sustain us? (See Luke 12: 32)

Instead of setting our heart on circumstantial disturbances and on the cares of life, we are invited by God Himself to getting to know Him: “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12:31 NIV)

When someone seeks God’s Kingdom, He inevitably gets to meet the King Himself. God hungers to develop a relationship with us. He wants us to get to know Him personally, to discover that we indeed have nothing to worry about. Instead we will discover that we can trust Him completely.

No money for groceries? Thank Him for providing you food and watch Him at work.

Problems at work? Trust these in Jesus’ hands and discover His Master touch in turning the tides around.

Exhausted from a long trip? Rely on the One who will energize you from the inside out.

Worries only rob us from real living and keep us from getting to know the One who can solve all of our worries.

Jesus asks us a simple question: Where is our heart? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34 NIV)

Where is our heart? Is it on our troubles, or is it on or the Solution Maker: Jesus Himself? Why worry when we are assured that everything will be provided to us by our Heavenly Father? There is one condition though: We have to get to know this awesome Heavenly Father before we can realize that we do not have to worry in all reality about anything.

This is one of the main reasons why Jesus came on our planet. He wanted to make us aware that God wants a relationship with us and that relationship will build an unshakable faith that indeed we have nothing to worry about.

May this Christmas season remind us of our assured Provider.

“Where is my hairbrush?”

Why worry, when you are bald?

Rob Chaffart