WHO CARES?

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

      Night had fallen on Pupperville and the surrounding country side and over all it seemed like another pleasant evening. The stars were popping out, the moon was shining bright, the crickets were chirping away and a gentle breeze was blowing through the leaves. But for Tracy this night was anything but pleasant.

     As Tracy lay in her bed she kept imagining that her dad had been eaten by giant alligators even though you would have to go over a 1000 miles to find one. And when she wasn’t thinking about giant alligators it was giant kangaroos that had stuffed her dad into their pouches and than bounced away never to be seen again.

     “Where are you, Dad?” she kept crying out as the evening turned to night and the night turned to morning. When she finally crawled out of bed the next morning, with her eyes half closed, she ran to her dad’s room hoping to find him safe in his bed but he wasn’t there. Next she ran to the barn to see if he was out doing chores but before she could get that far a big furry creature plowed her over.

     As Tracy stood back to her feet, bang Harold’s head banged into hers. “Ooooooh, my aching head,” Harold cried out as he fell backward onto the ground. “What are you doing running through my yard?” Tracy asked Harold as he slowly picked himself up off the ground. “Just trying to catch Muffy again.” Harold replied.

     “Have you seen my dad?” Tracy asked Harold since he was there, “He left yesterday and never came back.” “Who Cares!” Harold snapped back “I have enough to worry about trying to catch Muffy. By the way, did you see where he went?” “He went to Jericho.” Tracy replied. “Muffy went to Jericho?” Harold said with a puzzled look on his face. “Not Muffy,” Tracy said, “My dad!” “Uh ho” came Harold’s response

     “Harold Peterson,” snapped Tracy, “Did you do something to my dad?” “Not really,” Harold answered “All I did was point the sign to Jericho the wrong way.” “Where did that road go?” cried Tracy to which Harold said something about an alligator infested swamp with huge sharks and giant kangaroos and than ran off after Muffy.

     All Tracy could do after that was sit and cry for now she was sure she would never see her dad again.

     In 1 Peter 5:7 we read these words "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (NLT) Sometimes it’s hard to find some one who cares about our troubles. While Harold may not have cared about Tracy’s troubles or what happened to John because of his so called joke, we can be assured that God will always care.

     Does anybody know what a worry wart is? It's a little creature to which you are to give all your worries and then nothing happens with them. Do any of you ever worry? Do you ever wonder if anybody really cares? Let's head to Luke chapter 12 where we find Jesus teaching the crowds that had gathered around him.

     Luke 12:16-20 - Then Jesus told this story: “There was a rich man who had some land, which grew a good crop. He thought to himself, ’What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.’ Then he said, ’This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and other goods. Then I can say to myself, “I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!“ ’ “But God said to him, ’Foolish man! Tonight your life will be taken from you. So who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?’ (NCV)

     At first glance, the man in this story doesn't appear to have anything to worry about but a place to put his abundance but Jesus uses this story to help teach the crowds not to worry. Let's pick up the rest of the story and see what Jesus had to say.

     Luke 12:22-32 Jesus said to his followers, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t have storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you are worth much more than birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. If you cannot do even the little things, then why worry about the big things? Consider how the lilies grow; they don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So how much more will God clothe you? Don’t have so little faith! Don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink, and don’t keep worrying. All the people in the world are trying to get these things, and your Father knows you need them. But seek God’s kingdom, and all the other things you need will be given to you. “Don’t fear, little flock, because your Father wants to give you the kingdom. (NCV)

     We live in a world that relies too much on money and money has become more and more unreliable - 1 Timothy 6:17 - Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. (NLT) We need to trust in God instead of worrying. Here are some thoughts from the passage above.

• Worry is useless
• When it comes to food - The birds are well fed and God will feed us
• When it comes to clothes - The fields are well dressed and God will clothe us
• Basically put - God cares about us and will take care of us if we put Him first

     Psalms 55:22 - Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. (NLT)

      Here's Something to Ponder

• What are the things that you worry about
• How has God shown He cares for you