Matthew 6:25-34

Matthew 6:25-34

For I say this to you all: do not be anxious about your life – what you should eat or what you should drink, neither about with what you should clothe your body.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Consider the birds of the heavens.  They neither sow nor reap nor gather into the storehouse yet your Father in heaven provides food for them.  Are you all not worth more than them?  And while you all are being anxious, who among you all are you powerful enough to add a single amount of measure to his stature?  And regarding your clothing, why are you all anxious?  Observe how the lilies of the field grow.  They neither toil nor spin.  Yet I say to you all that not even Solomon in all of his glory dressed himself as one of these.  But if in this manner God clothes the grass of the field while it is here today and tomorrow while being thrown into the oven, does He not even more clothe you all, ones of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious while saying, “What should we eat?” or “What should we drink?” or “What should we wear?”  For the Gentiles seek after all these things.  For your heavenly Father has known that you all need these things entirely.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious into tomorrow – for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  It’s trouble is sufficient for its own day.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I love Jesus’ analogy.  It’s so simple.  Birds don’t fret about clothing, shelter, or food.  They just live.  The grass and flowers of the field don’t fret about things, either.  They just live. They can live because their lives are so simple.  When we look at our own anxiety, how much of our anxiety is of things of our own creation?  We’re anxious about our money.  We’re anxious about our reputation.  We’re anxious about our communal status.  I can keep going and going.  But the truth is that we should be anxious about our relationship with God and our eternal place of resting.  But instead we are anxious about things of this world and things of our own making.  We make our lives complicated; therefore, we are anxious.

Where do you live a complicated life?  Where are you anxious about worldly things or things of human origin?  Where are you anxious about things of your own making?

Second Thought:

This leads us into Jesus’ main point in the passage is one that we all need to hear.  Do not be anxious.  After all, what can I add to my life through my anxiety?  Can I make myself more powerful?  Can I make myself live longer?  Can I make myself more able to resist?  No.  There is no real point to anxiety.  Troubles will come.  God will get us through them so long as we remain focused upon Him.  Anxiety only serves to strip us out of God’s capable hands and toss us into our own distress.

Do you suffer from much anxiety in life?  Where are the areas where you deal with anxiety?  Why are you anxious there?  How can turning to God help you with that anxiety?

Third Thought:

I believe there is a much more profound thought to Jesus’ teaching here.  Yes, He is absolutely teaching us about anxiety.  But He is also teaching us about trust.  Do we really trust God?  Do we really pursue God?  If we really pursue God and we really trust God – then why on earth do we suffer from anxiety?  Can our life be placed in any more capable hands than God’s hands?  Do we actually think we can do a better job providing for ourselves than God can do?

So – do you?  How does your anxiety demonstrate a dependence upon yourself and your own ability instead of your pursuit of what God really wants for you?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 7:1-6