God

Over the past couple of days I've been pondering my relationship with God.

Like any of the relationships we have with anyone (friends, spouses, co-workers, etc)...we go through our ups and downs. At least, I do!

Last night, at my weekly Bible study with the young adult women at my church, we discussed running with Christ in freedom---specifically related to anxiety...this is an area that a lot of us tend to struggle with!

The study emphasized how Christ wants us to come to him, cast allllll of our anxieties on him and to worry about today only. One of the passages we read was Matthew 6:25-34. Let me type if out for you...

Do Not Worry

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 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.”

It seems to always come back to this for me. I do tend to be an anxious person. Of course, I would absolutely LOVE to cast my anxieties on the Lord! I would love to not worry about my life, what I will wear...and I intellectually can understand how much God must love ME considering how much He even cares for the tiny little birds (even the ones that get up right close to me when I eat outside and scare me) and how he has so beautifully designed the flowers...but it is a harder concept to grasp in my heart. I also know that God wants us to go to him with all of our troubles and concerns...we see this often in the Psalms...check out Psalm 6 (http://www.biblegateway.com/). I love reading the Psalms...it reminds me we are not alone in our troubles.

But whenever I read these passages, I wonder what keeps me from really grasping the love of God? How can I not only know it in my head, but feel it in my heart as well? Maybe its impossible for us to really comprehend how much each of us are loved by God? I came across this quote which I liked...and I'd like to really "feel it" one of these days.

"Let us feel that He has His heart set upon us, that He is watching us from those heavens with tender interest, that He is following us day by day as a mother follows her babe in his first attempt to walk alone, that He has set His love upon us,... and in spite of ourselves is working out for us His highest will and blessing, as far as we will let Him ---and then nothing can discourage us." -A.B. Simpson, Closer Walk

How awesome!

What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to hear your feedback.