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Stop Worrying

The Lord has been talking to me quite a bit lately about not worrying about tomorrow…in other words, stopping dwelling on the future and circumstances I cannot control. Usually, when it comes to things that carry a certain amount of import, I like to plan and prepare, organize and think ahead. With other things that have less weight to them, I’m pretty laid back and flexible and just go with the flow. But the Lord has been repeatedly showing me that in everything, I have to trust Him. I cannot possibly plan ahead enough, think things through enough, or trouble-shoot enough to manage a particular outcome. I have to trust HIM for the results.

This is difficult. I think most of us struggle with it, and it can be a constant battle. It is so tempting to put our hands on a situation that the Lord has said, “Don’t touch. Let go. Let Me take care of this. Sit back. Spend time with Me. Listen for My Spirit to speak to you. Let Me fight for you. Trust Me…” This doesn’t usually mean that there is nothing to do. Depending on the situation, there are mostly like some logical steps to take, things that must be done, taken care of, but beyond that…the Lord is saying: “Hands off.”

Most of us are familiar with Matthew 6:25-34. In this passage, Jesus talks in detail about not worrying and how the Lord takes care of His creation, including us. He ends the passage with this: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” We are to seek God. He will take care of us. Consider today. Trust Him for tomorrow.

But how do we do that practically? Sometimes it’s a moment by moment battle. We have a very real enemy ready to distract us, doing his best to keep us from seeking and trusting the Lord. He’s very effective in helping us to keep our eyes on our situation, breathing suggestions of worry and doubt when the Lord has very clearly directed us not to. So what do we do? We follow Paul’s instruction in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

And the truth is, my friends, we cannot possibly know what is going to happen tomorrow anyway, let alone try to control it. In fact, James warns us about this: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ ” James 4:13-15

Today, if like me you’ve struggled a bit with worrying about tomorrow…stop. Together, let’s moment by moment take our thoughts captive, submit them to the Lord, seek Him, trust Him, and rest in His Presence and His promises.

Kaite Botello
FBC Aztec Member

Keep Your Eyes Always on the LORD

The other day as I was walking from my car to my classroom, my arms were full—purse, backpack with laptop, bag full of tissue boxes, my breakfast, a drink, my building and classroom keys, a card a friend handed to me on my way in—but I was barely able to hold onto these items, and it was not as if I were loaded down with a bunch of unnecessary items; they were all things I should have been able to carry in one trip but as I was struggling to hold onto all of the stuff, I had the sudden realization, “I’m not handling this load well.” 

With great difficulty I tried to hold everything together, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that I was about to lose my grip on the things I was carrying.  It had crossed my mind to stop and set everything down and readjust to make the load more manageable, but I was a little too stubborn and it was a little too cold that morning, and I kept going all the way to my classroom doing the juggling act.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered my classroom and the things in my arms toppled from my grip onto my desk.  But I started to think (you know…the kind of thinking that leads to reflecting and you’re pretty sure it’s Lord guiding your thoughts wanting you to have a takeaway” from your experience).  As I began to consider the situation, I realized that I had handled it poorly.

#1 I had been in a hurry when I grabbed all of the items from my car.  I had not picked them up in a way that was best for handling.  #2 At any point I could have stopped and readjusted the load, setting things down and reconfiguring.  #3 Though the load was a lot, it was not too much to bear, but it was too much of my focus.

This made me speculate how many times I have thought about obligations and responsibilities and been concerned that “it’s all too much”, feeling like I’m on the verge of “dropping the ball” so to speak, when sometimes it’s actually not that at all.  I’m just not handling what the Lord has entrusted me with properly.

And it’s not that I need to start getting rid of a bunch of things, but perhaps it is necessary to set them down for a moment, collect my thoughts, re-center on the Lord, and then pick up my load again, wisely readjusting what He has entrusted to me so that my focus is back on Him and not on what I’m carrying. 

In order to do that, I have to stop and pause the scrambling about.  Actually take a moment to slow down, breath, and seek Him, remembering that it is HE who gives me strength to bear burdens:  “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.  Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”  I Chronicles 16:10,11  

I need to have a conversation with Him about what I’m struggling to juggle and carry (Paul gives a formula for this in Philippians 4:6,7), and I need to put my trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5,6), putting my eyes back on Him and making HIM my focus, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”  Psalm 16:8  

Today, if you are struggling to balance everything, perhaps it’s not that you are carrying too much, but maybe it’s that the load and the focus need to be readjusted.  Don’t be afraid to stop for a moment, recalibrate, and seek the Lord.

Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member

Extend Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness

The other day, I took off during my lunch break to grab some food in a drive-thru, but it was during a time when the road was partially blocked off for road construction.  I realized that it was going to be tricky to get in and out of the food establishment and then try to maneuver through the traffic afterward, but I was motivated and took the risk.

When it was time to pull into the lane of traffic after getting my food, I had to wait for a reasonably sized opening in order to make my way into the single lane of slow moving cars.  There just didn’t seem to be a break.  Then finally, after many cars had passed, one driver slowed down and hurriedly waved me on.  Problem number one solved.

The next step was to get through the traffic quick enough to make it back to work with enough time to be able to eat my food.  The car in front of me took forevvveeerrr!!  At least, that’s what it felt like.  I could feel myself growing impatient as I tried to beat the clock and found myself telling the car in front of me to, “Hurry up!”  And even added a few extra comments like:  “Truly?  Does it REALLY take that long?”  “You could speed it up a little, sir…”

Then without warning, a deep conviction pierced my heart.  Here I was, giving little to no grace to the driver in front of me when just moments before someone had slowed down, let me in, and showed me undeserved grace in the moment I needed it, and the Holy Spirit brought to mind “The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant” in Matthew 18.

In the parable, there is a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.  There was one man in particular who owed him a great sum of money.  When the man learned his punishment, he begged the king on his knees, saying:  “ ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ”  The Word says that the king had pity and erased the debt.  But the story does not end there.  Take a look:

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.  He grabbed him and began to choke him.  ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’  But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.”

The other servants of the king were so disturbed by this, they told the king about it.  Here’s the king’s response:  “…the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.”

This parable hinges on grace, mercy, and ultimately forgiveness.  God so graciously demonstrates these qualities without measure to us, and yet…do we do the same?  I know that this particular day when I was more worried about my tummy and getting back to work than being gracious or merciful, the Holy Spirit in His infinite wisdom slowed down my heart and soul to reflect and in doing so humbled me, and I am so, so thankful.

Today, let’s not forget to extend grace and mercy and forgiveness.  No, people do not generally deserve it, but then…neither did we. 

Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member

Allow the Lord to Use You

There is a story of a woman named Ruth—a foreigner to Israel—found in a small book called “Ruth” sandwiched in-between Judges and 1 Samuel.  Her tale is one of heartbreak and of loss but also one of redemption and favor.  Ruth was no ordinary woman but a woman of great dedication and devotion.

Her husband’s family was from Israel but had moved to Moab during a time of famine; Moab is where Mahlon, Ruth’s husband, had met and married her.  As time went on, not only did Ruth’s husband die but her father-in-law and her brother-in-law died as well.  Ruth and her sister-in-law, Orpah, stayed with their mother-in-law, Naomi, for a period of time after that.

Then Naomi, after hearing that there was food again in Israel, decided to go back.  Ruth and her sister-in-law began the journey with Naomi but before long, Naomi decided that the young women should go back to their own people in Moab.  Neither woman wanted that, but eventually Orpah acquiesced and went home.  But Ruth…Ruth could not make herself do it.  Look at her response to Naomi:

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ “  Ruth 1:16,17   The intense amount of devotion is breath-taking…

My heart is rent within me every single time I read this story and consider her words in this passage.  I pray earnestly and deeply that this would be my heart and dedication in everything pertaining to the Lord…where He goes, I will go…let NOTHING separate me from Him, from His will, from His plan, from His purpose, from His heart…

And the beauty of it is, in this story of Ruth, that one single decision—the decision to follow her mother-in-law back to the land of Israel, to land of the chosen people of God—that one solitary decision changed the course of history. 

From the lineage of Ruth, who married Boaz, an Israelite (an amazing man with a heart of integrity, generosity, grace, and kindness), from her lineage came God’s anointed king for Israel—David, a man after God’s own Heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).  He was Ruth’s great grandson.  

And here’s the clincher, my friends…not only did King David come from Ruth’s lineage but THE King of kings and the Lord of lords—Jesus Christ of Nazareth—is in the lineage of Ruth as well.  Wow!!

Ruth was a foreigner to the land, seemingly the least likely person to fulfill the high purposes and calling of God.  She was not of noble birth or of great stature but because of her constant willingness, pure heart, dedication to doing the right thing, God used her, again, to change the course of history.  Why not you and me?

Today, let’s allow our story to be like Ruth’s.  Let’s allow the Lord to use us.  Let’s be dedicated to doing the right thing, to having a pure and willing heart that will always say “yes” to the things of God.  Let’s cling to Him in the same way Ruth clung to Naomi and to the promises of the people of God.

Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member

Comfort and Security

What do you hold onto?  What brings you comfort?  A baby holds onto a bottle for comfort and security.  A toddler holds onto a blanket or stuffed animal.  A child his favorite toy.  A teenager their phone….but what do you hold onto?  As an adult there are certain things that give us daily comfort and some security…our wallet, our bank account, our keys, our car, our house, etc.

But what do we hold onto when it matters?  None of those things can bring back a loved one, heal a broken heart, cure loneliness or marital conflict; they cannot bring home a wayward child or fight an incurable disease.

We know the Sunday School answer is—“I hold onto Jesus when it matters”—but is that true?  What do we really turn to first in the time of need…when we need comfort and a sense of security?  Food, movies, another person—our closest friend, a family member, or even our superb reasoning and analytical skills?  None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but none of them are a perfect fix.  All of them are subject to availability and even change. 

Change is inevitable.  There isn’t much in life that is constant.  Conflict destabilizes circumstances.  Heartbreak can bring tumultuous thoughts and emotions…but the cool part is that the Sunday School answer truly is THE answer…God never changes and He is the ultimate security and comfort.

Take a look:  “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.  Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.  But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”  Psalm 102:25-27   And, “I the Lord do not change…” Malachi 3:6a   Also, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8

How do we avoid turning to other things first when we need comfort and security?  We can ask the Holy Spirit to remind us to turn to Jesus first, to turn to the Father in the moment of need.  We can learn to take our own thoughts captive instead of letting them lead us in circles.  We can read the Word and talk to the Lord.  And we can believe what He says about His own character…He’s our Shepherd, our Refuge, our Rock, and so much more.

Today, whether life is going well or filled with a bit of uncertainty, let’s continually find our comfort and security in Jesus.  Let’s hold onto the Father (who never changes) so tightly.  Let’s trust Him because He has never failed us.

Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member