Life Lessons from Thumper
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On my way home from work, I became enamored by this bunny. Yes, a rabbit. There is a gang of them near our office, so it is common to see them. But, this one caught my attention. It was huge; it looked like a cat! And it was there just hanging out in the sun, eating the grass, having a good day. It was not bothered by the hundreds of people or cars passing by. It wasn’t the caught up in the chaos of the day. It wasn’t bothered. It wasn’t anxious. It was just being.
As I watched the bunny, I thanked God for taking care of this bunny. And then, it hit me- I could be just like this bunny. I am choosing to worry about life, but if God can take care of this bunny, He can definitely take care of me. My mind started racing as I walked to my car- “what’s that verse about birds in air? Is God really using a bunny to help me with my life?’ And the questions went on until I got home. So, I found the passage- “Do Not Be Anxious,” it reads in bold letters. If only it were that easy Mr. Matthew, if only.
As I read this passage, a couple applicable lessons come to mind.
- Life is more than the menial things that I worry about. What’s for dinner and who is cooking? Do we have enough money saved? What about the next thing? Life is more than all of those things combined. Those things don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the beauty of this life nor its meaning.
- God loves me more than bunnies. That may seem like a no-brainer to you, but for me, a person who struggles to understand God’s love, it’s a really big deal. God, in His infinite, undesirable love and care, provides for the birds and bunnies. Surely, He will do the same for me.
- Worrying doesn’t add to my life.
- If I am worried about the things of this world, I’m becoming a slave to the world. I’m not casting my cares on Jesus, who promises rest, and that is sin. I need to repent. Lord, help me with this.
- Focusing on the things of Jesus should be my mission. God promises through Matthew 6:33 that all the things that I worry about will be added if/when I put the Kingdom of God first.
All that from stopping to look at a rabbit. What beauty we can find if we stop to look for it. God bless you. Thank you for reading. If you struggle with worry and anxiety as I do, please consider the prayer and scripture below.
Be peculiar!
Prayer- Lord, help me to cast my anxious thoughts and worries at the foot of the cross. Help me to lay my burdens down and not pick them back up again. Father, help me to take captive every thought of worry and anxiety that sets itself up in my mind. I thank you for loving me more than bunnies. I thank you for always providing for me and protecting me. I repent of my worry, anxiety, doubt and lack of faith. I believe that you will do all that you promised- Help my unbelief. I love you God. Be glorified in my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.