Today's Devotion
Tuesday of Easter 5, May 5, 2026 - Luke 12:13034
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Anxiety is a big problem in our culture. It is also a big business, causing people to be dependent upon prescription drugs and expensive counseling. No doubt, in some cases, such interventions are needed. But think about how much incentive there is to keep the population in a constant state of anxiety and worry: through social media and television: fearmongering masquerading as “news.”
Jesus gives us solid reasons not to fall into the world’s spiral of anxiety. In fact, He says yet again, “Fear not.” And He tells us why: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” For much of what causes anxiety is fear about the future: “your life, what you will eat… your body, what you will put on.” Our Lord reminds us that our lives are not, as the nihilists and atheists tell us, a relentless struggle for survival. No indeed! “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” For we have a gracious and powerful Father who “knows that you need” certain things to live. So let us “seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to [us]!” This kind of trust in the Lord’s provision according to His promises, this faith in God’s Word, is the ultimate antidote to anxiety.
For without living in the kingdom and believing in the Father’s goodness, this anxiety leads to hoarding and a lack of generosity. It causes people to live lives of “covetousness” by seeing the meaning of life not as being part of the kingdom, but rather “in the abundance of [our] possessions.” Our Lord illustrates this by means of a parable, in this case, not so much a story that resembles a fable, but one that reads more like a Greek tragedy. Jesus tells about a man who obsessed over his things, building ever bigger barns to store his wealth, only to drop dead in the middle of the night. “So it is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich before God.”
But on the other hand, to place one’s trust in God’s provision not only takes away our anxiety, but empowers us to live lives of love and service to others. “Sell your possessions,” says Jesus, “and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.” For this kind of wealth is impervious to the taking of the thief and to the destruction of the moth.
Having a healthy view of wealth, making it work for the sake of the kingdom, is the true antidote to anxiety. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Ristau recently wrote a lengthy and worthy read which in part candidly addresses 'mental illness' as being spiritual and demonic. He points to Demonic acknowledgements in earlier cultures that current first world nations scoff at, and back to his chaplaincy and dealing with PTSD [or moral injury] wherein his pastoral office was used to 'heal', and then he challenges church pastors to reclaim their role as Seelsorger, and to be bold in speaking and acting in that role, even to reclaim an 'essential' status in society. Btw, yes, I love you devotion!! :)
Thanks, Pastor Larry. You always make me a better man.