Morning Devotional 041926 Putting Aside Earthly Treasures

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

April 19, 2026

Matthew 6:24-34

²⁴ No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ²⁵ “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? ²⁷ Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. ²⁹ But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? ³¹ Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ ³² Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Good Morning! God provides for our needs!

How much is enough? I have a bad habit of gathering too much stuff. A portion of my things, I purposefully acquired over my life. Some of these are worth saving, but many could find a new home if I chose to let them go. 

Another portion of my things is what was handed down to me by my family. Now, truly, there is much I do not need, nor even want. But these things continue to sit in boxes and tubs. Why would I keep these things? I could list many reasons: respect, guilt, and tradition. Perhaps there are even things of monetary value, but if I don’t want or need them, why do they remain in my possession?

My excuses are many.

1. The number of containers is overwhelming. It’s easier to close the door.

2. Some containers have hidden treasures, and I haven’t taken the time to examine the contents.

3. It’s painful to quantify someone's life by their stuff.

4. What if I get rid of it, and then I need it? This has happened!

Beginning now, I will share my abundance with others. I pray to let go of these burdens and free myself to seek God’s will in all things and work on building my heavenly treasures. 

God of Wisdom, you bless us abundantly! O God, forgive my hoarding of things. Help me focus on you in all things. Thank you. We love you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Thought for the day: No amount of riches compares to the treasure of our relationship with God. 

Put aside our earthly treasures!  Pastor Liz