“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” (Matthew 6:25-26, MSG)

When I was really young, I despised spinach and cantaloupes. The first time I tasted them was in sunny Spain. Unfortunately, both disappointed me, for after eating them, I literally lost all contents of my stomach, and I ended up being sick for two days. I convinced myself I was truly allergic to them. They became my forbidden food and there was no way I would ever touch them.

Had I persisted in my belief, I would have missed the opportunity to enjoy these two delicious foods. Today, I eat both of them with anticipation. (It’s true that my wife is a gourmet cook who can take any food, even the tasteless kind, and turn it into a meal for a king…) Why should I have to worry about food?

As for my clothes, I never fuss. I would wear them, holes and all. Wouldn’t this offer air-conditioning? After all, clothes are just clothes!

Here again my wife comes through for me, secretly making these damaged garments disappear into nothingness.

Why worry about clothing?

Too often we focus on trivialities that are not worth worrying about, giving up our freedom and replacing it with bondage. There is, after all, far more to life than food and clothing. Instead we should be like the birds, “careless in the care of God,” who always comes through!

A few years ago I was diagnosed with acid reflux. I would have to take medicine for the rest of my life. If I didn’t take my pill for the day, I would have terrible consequences. It was a real nightmare.

Then one day I came to my senses. My Heavenly Father wants me to be healthy. If that is the case, why worry? I left my acid reflux in His hands. Within weeks, I had no more acid reflux. That was a few years ago. I have never refilled these pills again. I am completely healed (My pharmacist, however, probably wishes I had never asked for help from my Heavenly Father…).

Why worry when I have a caring Heavenly Father?

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Majestic Mountain View” devotional series, please click here.)