The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18.

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:19 NKJV.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29.

In our chapter, Matthew 6, Jesus, the Son, continues to teach us how to be close to Him. He is the One who sees. When we give ourselves to impress other people, the rewards are as shallow as the notice they may or may not give. They, too, are bound up in their own thoughts and worries. But Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is with us. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them…But when you give to the needy…give so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray…go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen…For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. This then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” v. 1, 3, 4, 5, 8-15. It’s second nature to be caught up in wanting to be seen by others and it’s a struggle to come out of that need. But when we take our eyes off of ourselves and turn to Creator God, we find the help we have been longing for all along. “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you…And store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and money.” v. 17, 20-24. The next verses, 25-34, seem impossible for us because we need food and clothing and we are not the birds nor the flowers of the field. But something remarkable happens when we stop living shallow lives concerned only with what others think or only about our physical needs. We begin to appreciate that our every needs are provided by Creator God. We didn’t create the elements of the food we cook, the material for the clothes we wear, the sunshine or the rain or the earth rotating and traveling through space so we can have the seasons in their due time, the sunshine by day and darkness by night. And as we draw near to God, we notice! And we live in deep appreciation and thanksgiving. “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 not life 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 not 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?…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.” v. 25-30, 33-34.

Can I go a little deeper? I worry for friends on Facebook who are so caught up in the politics of our day, policies that are causing real harm for people they know and those they will never meet. I, too, was absolutely caught up in that until my soul couldn’t take any more distress. And all of that angst and worry, concern for the “left” or the “right”, didn’t change one thing that was happening. We need closeness with Creator God. Instead of railing against what others are doing, however grievous, pray! Trust God. Pray for those being harmed and for those doing the harm. Love them all enough to want what is best for them – closeness with God. What we give to this world matters. Our prayers matter! Watching last night on Prime – Season 5, Episode 5 of The Chosen, the disciples were undone by trying to fit what they thought would be – with the words Jesus said to them at the Passover supper. What He said did not fit with anything they “knew”. A paradigm shift so profound they couldn’t reconcile the difference…like trying to force a square shape into a round hole. Can we see? We need closeness with Creator God. A paradigm shift so profound we are forever changed. Our closeness with God brings His peace, His presence, which is our assurance that He knows, He sees, and He is working for our good in Him. Always! Right now we see as through a glass darkly. Things aren’t clear so they don’t make sense, they don’t “fit”. That’s okay. Just as Creator God was with the disciples then, He is with us now and will be with all of us when Jesus, the Son, returns. It takes real patience to trust God and wait for Him. It’s so worth it. A beautiful paradigm shift!