Your Victory Was Secured on the Cross

664/15/24So, by now you may already know that Scotti Scheffler has won the Masters. In his post round interview he talked about the conversation he was having with his friends Sunday morning prior to the final round. He wanted to win so bad that it had become almost a worry of sorts. He told his friends that he wished he didn’t want to win so bad so he wouldn’t be worried or anxious about it. The advice his friends gave him was, “your victory was secured on the cross”. They weren’t wrong. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”Matthew 6:25-27 You know, every time I see Matthew 6 I can’t help but think about my dad. Oh, I will talk about what Jesus says to us in a second, but I can’t help be reflect on how positive and hopeful he was. It’s a very beautiful and unique characteristic in very few. But when you see it, it’s beautiful and encouraging. He had it. Sounds like Scotti’s buddies had it too. So what was Jesus trying to tell us and what’s he talking about with birds and everything?Well, Jesus’ point is that worrying is not productive. We cannot change anything just by worrying about it. I’ve tried many times, didn’t work...not once. And the birds, well they don’t seem to worry about anything and God seems to provide for them just fine. So why should we be any different? We aren’t. Look, no problem has ever been resolved by merely worrying about it. Worry, left unchecked, will turn into fear. But with prayer, now that’s a game changer! Tell your concerns to God and let Him deal with it. He has an awesome set of tools. Is your refrigerator empty? Do you not have sufficient clothing to wear? In Jesus’ message about not worrying, He is not saying that food, drinks and clothing are not important. He knows they are, but the point is that since God provides for the birds daily, He will provide for you as well. Turn the time you would waste worrying about a problem into productive time with God. Pray to Him for your daily needs. Hey don’t worry, God loves you and wants to meet your needs!Be Nice. Grace Wins.