“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25-27 NASB1995)

This is interesting timing for this to be the next section of Scripture for today. Why so? You may ask. Well, for the past almost 4 months (114 days) I have been in pain, sharp stabbing and nerve pain, mostly on the left side of my body, and chest pressure and pain, and difficulty breathing. I have had 21 doctor and/or hospital or medical facility appointments and 19 tests and/or procedures for the purpose to find out what is going on in my body. But none of those tests explained my pain and what was causing the pain.

So, I have been praying for wisdom, and other people have been praying for me. And then one of my nieces (she is a nurse) made a suggestion to me, and so I followed through with that. And so I expressed my concerns to my doctor who then took me seriously. And he ordered some blood tests and some x-rays of my spine and ribs. The blood tests all came back in normal range, so no issues there. The x-rays, though, revealed what I believe has been the source of my pain all along. And old age is certainly part of it.

From what I have been able to understand of the x-ray results, it appears that I have arthritis in my lower lumbar with a possible joint dislocation or where my bones are out of their normal position, but still connected. And I have some mild disc space narrowing at most or some levels in my thoracic and cervical spines. And I have mild lower cervical spondylosis, i.e. an age-related wear-and-tear degeneration of the spine involving the breakdown of spinal discs and joints, often leading to stiffness, pain, and sometimes nerve issues (explanation aided by AI). And this fits perfectly with my symptoms.

So, I am thanking and praising the Lord for this breakthrough, that we finally have some solid evidence of what is going on inside my body which has been causing me all this pain. And now we have something we can work with in finding things which can be done to help alleviate the pain, first of all which is always prayer, and trusting God still with my circumstances. And then there are natural remedies like physical therapy, but at a lower gentler level and not so aggressive as to actually ignite and increase the pain level.

So, then I pulled up this passage of Scripture and it began with, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life.. nor for your body.. And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” And the part “nor for your body” is what was standing out to me. And I think the Lord was assuring me again that he has this handled. He has this taken care of. No matter where this goes, God is still in control. I am to trust him with his plan, even when I don’t understand, and I am to keep following his lead.

Now, I have been trusting the Lord through this whole time to work this out according to his plan and purpose for my life. I have prayed for healing, and I believe in divine healing, but I also believed I should pray according to the will of God, so “not my will by Thine be done” has been my prayer. And I am fully convinced that God has been taking me through these trials for his purposes and that he will work good through it all, for his glory. But I am praising the Lord for revealing what had not yet been revealed. God is good!

So, this was just another reminder to me of how God has all things under his control, and that no matter what our circumstances may be, we are to keep trusting him, even when we don’t have the answers to our questions. And even though he allowed me to see what is going on inside my body, which appears to be what is causing my pain, that does not mean that things will get better and not get worse, for I don’t know what tomorrow holds. Do you? But I rejoice in that he let me see a light at the end of the tunnel.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

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Do Not Be Worried
An Original Work / January 9, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love