“And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, yet I say to you that not evn Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these…So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself, Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:28-29 & 34 NASB 2020)

There are many troublesome events and circumstances in this world today, too many to list them all and quite frankly, I don’t care to list them. It’s important to be informed about the realities we live in, especially so that we can make good decisions regarding our finances, our health, our civic involvement, the ministries we support, etc. It is also just as easy to get overly wrapped up in the barrage of information that is thrown at us daily. It is easy for us to chase rabbit holes of information that lead us nowhere but to a place of fears, doubts, concerns and despair. The flip side of this is becoming so overly spiritual that says we are placing our cares on God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7) to the point that we lose sight of reality and fail to address the concerns of people around us. Perhaps you have heard the phrase “if you worry, don’t pray and if you pray, don’t worry” or perhaps the phrase “too blessed to be stressed”. These are meant to be an encouragement to those filled with anxiety, but for the one who is truly anxious it may seem like an impossible platitude to apply to their lives. How can we balance the reality of stress, anxiety and worries in everyday life with our faith that instructs us to trust in the Lord?

To begin with, I find Scripture to be a good starting place. There are a variety of texts to lean on. But perhaps, my favorite is the Matthew text which gives me a moment of pause and consideration, a place to breathe and take stock of whatever it may be that is pushing in on my peace and trust in God. I am not exempt from worry because I am a pastor. In fact, just the opposite can be true. As pastors, we are constantly in a balancing act of caring for the flock, while managing budgets, ensuring our sanctuaries are in good condition, meeting obligations for various ministries, not to mention our personal lives. It can be overwhelming at times, especially when a variety of things all come at us at once.

Recently, I’ve been toiling with a few issues. As I was driving home one day, I turned the corner and there along the roadside was a wooden fence with a crown of yellow jasmine, cascading over the top of the fence. My brain took a mental snapshot. As I worked the mental snapshot onto the paper, I had a stack of paperwork waiting for me to tackle, yet getting the image of the fence had to come first. As I worked the paint across the paper, I found myself less and less stressed about my to-do list. If I didn’t finish it all today, I quickly realized the world would not come to an end and the things I’ve been juggling would not fall to the floor in a crash. In fact, I believe that taking the time to soak in God’s reminder of not to worry, actually freed my mind to have a better focus on the issues I still need to tackle. Some of the stack has dwindled down, and there is still some serious work to do, but I am reminded that the God who dresses the field with flowers and fences is the one who will help me work through the difficult things that concern me. And so I see in the fence with the jasmine, the balance we need; the fence being the structures of life that we must be aware of that must be attended to and the jasmine, the gentle reminder that God is taking care of me.