JUNE 20, 2025

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”  

― Gordon B. Hinckley

NEHEMIAH 12-13

10I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

ACTS 4:23-37

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

JOURNAL 

Reading through Nehemiah 13:10–11, I’m reminded how easily we can neglect what matters most. The Levites had returned to their fields because their portion had not been provided, and Nehemiah asks bluntly, “Why is the house of God neglected?” That question landed with weight this morning. Not because I’ve abandoned something outward, but because I see how inwardly distracted I’ve become—even by good things.

Lately, I’ve been fixated on my health metrics: heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, sleep quality. Ironically, all of them have been strong. But instead of feeling peace, I’ve let the pursuit of “better” consume me. I’ve allowed what began as wise stewardship to morph into quiet obsession. I now see how even good things—when they become ultimate things—turn into forms of worry.

In Acts 4:32–35, we’re shown a better way. The early believers shared everything they had. “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.” Their focus wasn’t inward; it was outward. They weren’t anxiously managing their personal comforts—they were generously pouring themselves out for one another. That’s the kind of life I long to live.

When I step back, I realize I am deeply blessed. My health, family, friendships, freedom—it’s all grace. But gratitude cannot flourish in a heart cluttered with control. I’ve been chasing certainty in numbers instead of resting in the certainty of Christ. I’ve been like the servant who buried his talent out of fear rather than the one who invested with faith.

But Scripture offers hope. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds me, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” That includes old mindsets of fear, performance, and control. Today I choose to let go. I want to live with open hands, trusting God fully—not just with my soul, but with my health, my time, my focus.

Actions don’t earn salvation, but they do reveal its reality. Like fruit on a tree, service and surrender are evidence of new life. Today I’ll choose presence over performance. Gratitude over grasping. And instead of managing my way through the day, I’ll ask God to multiply what I offer—however small.

Because today is more than enough.

 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,  a new creation has come:^a The old has gone, the new is here! ~

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17