While waiting for a tire to be repaired, I began talking with a man who farmed nearby. "Sure need rain," he said. "Don't know what we're gonna do if it doesn't rain."

"A lot different from last year," I said.

"A year ago it was so wet I couldn't get in the field," the man replied. Then he paused and said, "You know, I've been farming around here for 41 years and it's always the same--either too wet or too dry. I don't know why I bother to talk about it in the first place!"

We laughed together and I went on my way, pondering what he had said and its relation to all the things I was worried about that day.

When Jesus spoke of the antidote to worry, He told His listeners to consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Mt. 6:26,28). Everything they need for life is beyond their control. God feeds and clothes them, Jesus said, and He'll do the same for you. His point? Stop worrying and start trusting.

For every essential element in our lives today, God would be pleased to have us trade worry for trust and say, "Thank You, kind heavenly Father. You already know what I need. So I'll trust You to take care of me."  — David C. McCasland