We come to the last Chapter in Numbers, Numbers 36. We read chapter by chapter and and go on with our activities and concerns. The Book of Numbers encompasses 39 years of the people wandering in a wilderness and who are now on the brink of entering into a land promised to their Patriarch Abraham, God’s faithful friend.

The family heads of the tribe of Manasseh come to Moses with their concerns. Heirs who are daughters could marry outside of their tribes and the tribe would lose part of their inheritance forever. They brought their concern to Moses and the Lord answered. “What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right. This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry as they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan. No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.” v. 5-9.

I marvel that the people were so blessed. They had a concern and God directed them. Never before in the history of a specific people had this happened. God spoke with individuals but now He was directing His people and teaching them in the way they should go.

This morning I was fixing my breakfast and growing increasingly irritated because I was worried for family who would be traveling in very cold weather this weekend. I realized my worry was causing my irritation and bad attitude in the split second before God helped me. In frustration, I asked God how can He handle all the worry He must suffer with all of us! In that moment, I realized God’s not worried.

Have you ever really thought about that? It’s an amazing truth. In seconds my mind like a film reel thought of all the wars, the horrors, the bad things that happen and yet again; I realized God is not worried. I realized the reason I worry is because I think I have control. That is arrogance. Let go of control you never needed or had. Trust the only One who does have control. With that understanding, fresh as it is, worry tries to bubble up unseen. As I earnestly seek God, I turn away from worry and I find peace. This new understanding helps me and I will cling to it.

Right after reading Numbers 36, I read The Chosen 40 Days With Jesus Book Three and on Day 3 titled Love Your Enemies, was Jesus’s admonition to love your enemies and pray for them from Matthew 5:43-48. A few excerpts that resonated with me this morning: {Truth is, there’s only one way to pursue perfection and that’s by cultivating a deep and abiding prayer life with the Father. Incidentally, once we recognize the real enemy at work, we quit trying to revise God’s commands to justify our hatred for other people. Instead, we cling to His Word by loving our enemies, knowing “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). All of whom will be crushed into oblivion forever. Until then, our job is to know the Truth. And the Truth – who was mutilated beyond recognition – bears repeating. We are, in fact, supposed to emulate the One who demonstrated perfect love toward all flesh and blood. With His dying breath, Jesus prayed for the corrupt men who nailed Him to the cross, and He asked the Father to forgive them. Because they were not the enemy He was defeating that day.} I sat with that last sentence for several minutes.

That may sound disconnected from the first part of this post about Numbers 36 and my epiphany about worry, but is it? Bring it to God. He knows. One of my enemies is worry. In cultivating a deep and abiding prayer life we grow close to the One who loves us and knows our need. He is not worried. What a relief that is! We worry ourselves sick and fret and become irritated and I dare say irrational at times. The daughters in Numbers 36? They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father’s tribe and clan. v. 12. Our inheritance remains in our Father. He is not worried. Bring it to Him. He’s here for you.