I have acquaintances that are constantly worrying about tomorrow. “What if we lose our jobs? We don’t have enough savings. What if we get sick?”
It is so hard to wake up and go to bed with such depressing thoughts! How can one call such a life purposeful and happy? Unfortunately, the majority of people live like that – worrying about what they don’t have instead of appreciating that which they do. They tussle about in their search for happiness thinking: “If only I get married, then I will be happy”, or “If only I could buy a large home, everything will fall into place”. Many do reach their intended goals, but happiness continues to elude them. We should not look for happiness, this transitional and fleeting state that just like vapor, is here today and gone tomorrow. And so, too, is our life like vapor a short moment on this earth. So is it worth it to waste it in search of fleeting things?
We must seek that which is constant – the only and absolute living God! Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount: “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew 6:30.
Little faith…
Little faith…These words reflect a bitter reproach from Jesus Christ. God did so many miracles for His people when He walked this earth, yet they lost their faith very quickly, and their complains were growing proportionally to the growth of their desires and lust.
I thought that “little faith” meant weak faith. I was so surprised to see the synonyms of this in a dictionary: skepticism, suspicion, nihilism. The Greek word “oligopistis” means shortage of faith or mistrust.
I became ashamed before God for my attitude towards Him. My mistrust, skepticism and suspicions hurt Him a lot. God is our rock and He has no untruth in Him. Do we really believe that He would leave us without our daily and spiritual bread? He is our Father. He takes care of the birds in the sky and the fields. But how much more precious are we to Him!
Matthew 6:31-34 says: “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”.
Why is it so difficult for us to believe in His promises? Our little faith causes us to lose the most important thing in life – a personal relationship with God. We don’t hear His voice, and our faith weakens even further. It is certain that we receive blessings according to our faith. And so if we worry about something, it means we don’t trust God, and we don’t know Him very well.
We must stop worrying and put our priorities in the right order. Our main priority is to seek the Kingdom of God. What is it and where can one find it? As we look at the world map, we definitely won’t find it there because it’s not a geographic place. It is everywhere around us and inside of us. We don’t need to go to the end of the earth. All we have to do is open the doors of our hearts and let the Kingdom of God along with the King and His truth in.
Mark 4:31-32 describes the Kingdom of God as follows: “It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade”.
I want to be good soil for this small seed to grow and give good fruit. For that to happen we need to seek the Kingdom of God. We need to seek His holy face. If you have little faith, ask God to help you in your unbelief. Allow Him to love you; let Him into your heart for the pure joy of getting to know Him more intimately, and not for the sake of blessings.
Many of us are afraid not only to open our hearts, but to even peek inside it because there is so much pain that has accumulated throughout life. We prefer to live in blindness pretending to have peace. Yet we don’t acknowledge that this can’t last; there is no way to hide the pain forever.
Take heart, look pain in the face and be victorious. Ask God for help, like a small child without a slightest doubt of His love. Our faith can fluctuate depending on life circumstances, but Our Father’s faith is constant. He loves us unconditionally and bleeds watching us make weak efforts to live with little faith. Give Him your heart. He has already given His.