““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
As we close out Chapter 6 of Matthew with a review of the Sermon on the Mount, we get into worry. Worry is one of the most damaging emotions that a person can engage in.
This post is one of a series I have been writing on the Sermon on the Mount. Check out the links at the bottom to get caught up.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Worry is one of those emotions that can drain the life of those who do it. When we worry, we feel out of control over events that may or may not affect our lives.
We worry about:
- Our Children
- Our jobs
- What people think about us
- The weather
- Etc., Etc.
This list could go on and on.
The problem with worry is it takes our attention off of the things that we can control. We have some control over our thoughts, what we say, what we do, where we go, and how we respond to any given event.
Worry can cause us to be locked in a state of fear.
When we worry, we also question God’s ability to do what is best for the believer.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV
Some of what the Lord will allow into our lives will be uncomfortable. But this is meant to help us grow in our faith. And some of it may be very unpleasant.
If our life was living on the mountaintop where everything is rosy, we tend to start to believe that this came from our efforts. The key here is to worship our Lord in good and bad times.
When we find ourselves in a state of worry, we concentrate on things we do not have control over. And this takes us away from the action we can take on the things we do have control over.
Let’s break this down a little bit:
We worry about things that we may or may not have done in the past. This is a form of depression. We can do nothing about things we did in the past. We can make amends for wrongs we have done; we can work on something that may change certain things from the past. But this brings us back to the present, where we have the power to make those changes.
We worry about things going our way in the future. This is a form of anxiety. God doesn’t guarantee us the next breath, let alone anything further than that. Worrying about things to come again takes us away from the present, where we have all the power to do something in our control.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Worrying can freeze us into inaction.
Our faith tells us that if we are loyal to God in the present moment, He will work out the details for our future.
This doesn’t mean we don’t plan our future or events that move us forward; we remove worry from our minds, knowing God will work out the details.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
In the previous post, we focused on how the system of this world is set up to create desire in our hearts for things of this world. There is a difference between wants and needs. We need a vehicle to get us from point A to point B. We don’t need the most up-to-date technology to do that. We’re told we do, but the reality is we don’t.
We have closets full of clothes. Clothes that will last us for ten years or more. But the world system will have us believe we need the newest fashions to keep up. This starts early in our lives. For me, it was right around middle school; my parents had a limited budget with four kids to buy “back to school” clothes for. But that pressure to fit in is intense, and our parents don’t want us to be unhappy, so they spend money they don’t have to help us not feel that pressure.
When we rely on the people around us to satisfy our wants and needs, we put a lot of pressure on those people. There is only one place that we should be looking at to supply our needs: God.
My wife and I were blessed to be able to take care of two men with Down syndrome. We loved them with all of our hearts. They were just happy. They didn’t worry about clothes or food but were clothed and fed daily. And these men blessed our hearts with love beyond measure. I know there is a lesson there for us.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When our focus is on building the Kingdom of God, the promise is He will provide all we need. I think we struggle with it because it is hard for us to believe it if we don’t see it. I think there is a saying that goes something like, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
As believers, we are called to believe in what we do not see.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV
The last portion of this scripture says, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We are called to plan like we will live forever but live like we have no tomorrow. As a believer, my soul will last forever, and my decisions on this earth will determine my place in eternity. I want to spend eternity in the presence of God.
That is why I try to live as a servant of God. Not that I can earn my way into heaven, but because of the sacrifice He made with Jesus on our behalf.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word. I pray that You continue to work in and through me to help others come to know the saving grace You provided through Jesus.
I thank You for the people You place in my path; I am thankful for those who encourage me. And I am grateful for those You have put in my life to encourage.
I know that Your grace is renewed daily. I pray that You give me the strength to look at the motives of my heart, and I pray that You give me the courage to change the motives that no longer serve You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!!
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