Joy killer.

 "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 life not more than food, and the body more 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that 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- 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 these things, and your heavenly Father knows 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."

                                        Matthew 6:25-34

        Having a spirit of worry is an easy thing to have in the days that we are living in. Family, Finances, Career, and a multiple of other categories of our life tend to always be in a state of confusion or uproar. But, just like everything not of God, Jesus offers a solution to the weight of worry. Simply put, don't. Don't waste the time worrying about things that are usually out of your control. Live an anxious-free life and don't fret over anything. Well, if that is all it took, you would not be reading this post, because you wouldn't be lost in thought or have a single care in the world. Unfortunately, we all know that is not an easy thing to do. Why else would God put 365 reminders in his word to not fear, a daily reminder to trust in the Lord in all circumstances? Many scholars who are smarter and much wiser than myself have said many things about the negative impact of a day spent by worrying, but here are some of my favorites. 

The more you worry about the future, the less you enjoy the present.'

Worrying won't change the outcome; it only steals your present joy.

Worry is a down payment on a debt you may never have. 

Worry pretends to be useful but serves no useful purpose.

    Do you see a pattern between these? By spending our lives worrying about the future, we steal the joy that comes with the present. We burden our shoulders with a weight we were never supposed to carry. We create scenarios in our head that will never see the light of day. Jesus took the weight of the world on his shoulders when he went to the cross on Cavalry so that we could have joy in the time we have, rather than fear in the moments to come. Think about the birds of the air, who neither toil nor reap, yet they have everything they need. When we trust God to be our provider, we trust that if we need it, God will deliver. It may not be when we think we need it, but it will be in the time when it will do the most good. God knows everything we need to be effective for his kingdom; we just need to tap into his infinite resources and embrace the joy that is before us. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Sermon on the Mount