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The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 1

To God You are Worth Much More than the Birds of the Air and the Flowers of the Field!

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

– St. Matthew 6:25-34

I will never forget an object lesson that the Holy Spirit taught me a few years ago while I was on a psychiatric ward in a hospital in Barbados. I was a full time university student in a foreign country with no financial support when I took ill. Therefore, I was perpetually uneasy about how I was going to afford the hospital bills, medications, et cetera. That constant worry and anxiety compounded the illness.

One day New Dimensions Ministries (NDM) – the Church I attended in Barbados sent me a bouquet of flowers. I remember how I admired the beauty of those flowers and how much they lifted my soul in times of deep depression. So much so that I wanted that bouquet of flowers to last for a very long time, hence, I watered the oasis the flowers were in every day. Nevertheless, after a while all those flowers died.

On the bedside table I had a bowl of fruits and some birds flew into the room and ate my fruits. As I sat on the bed and watched the birds as they ate my fruits, I thought, “Well imagine those birds, they did not provide my fruits, they did not work for them, neither did they ask my permission to have them, they just showed up and ate what was already provided.”

Immediately, the Holy Spirit reminded me of St. Matthew 6:25-34, a text that I was familiar with. However, I opened my Bible and read it again. He drew my attention to two (2) facts in this text that were demonstrated in my presence right there, they are: 1. As beautiful as that bouquet of flowers was the flowers only lasted for a season then they died, and 2. Abba Father provided for the birds so they did not have to work or gather or store up food for themselves. This message came home to me so convincingly as right before my natural eyes I saw very clearly the evidence of what Jesus explained in the aforementioned text.

It was obvious that Abba Father wanted me to be anxious for nothing but trust in His care because He indeed cares for me. He knew all that I needed even before the needs existed. To Him, I am worth much more than the birds, thus, since He provides for the birds as well as takes care of the flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, He will take even greater care of me. Trusting in His care in the midst of a difficult situation brought me such peace of mind that I was able to rest. I did not worry about my being on that psychiatric ward any more instead I sought first His kingdom and His righteousness. I looked for every opportunity to encourage other patients and even the nurses with the Word of God. As a result, I saw His provision for me in a foreign country in ways I least expected.

Jesus commands us to stop being anxious and worried about the basic needs for our lives and our bodies because life is greater in quality than food and the body far above and more excellent than clothing. He asks the question: “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure to his stature or to the span of his life?” None of us can change situations in our lives by worrying and being anxious. As a matter of fact, worry and anxiety only cause situations to change for the worst. Instead of adding span to life they shorten life as they cause illnesses which sometimes lead to death. 

When we come into the understanding that Abba Father values us so much more than the birds and will take better care of us than He does the birds and the flowers, we will not continually think about the things that we have need for but we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto us. 

I encourage you today to be anxious for nothing but trust in Abba Father’s care. To Him you are valued far above the birds and He knows all your needs and will supply them according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Abba Father loves you so much!

Have a blessed day!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father I worship You today just for who you are – You are my Abba Father. Thank you for loving me so much and for providing all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I am humbled to be valued and treasured by You far above all other creation. I repent for the times I have been disobedient to Your Word that says ‘Be anxious for nothing’. Spirits of anxiety and fear I rebuke and bind you and command you to leave, go to the dry places right now in the name of Jesus. Today I loose the peace of God in my life and I declare that I am calm in all circumstances, I will seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and I will receive from Him all that I need as well. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ name. Amen!