“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 important than food, and the body more important 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies 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, O 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)
Worry is to dwell on the “what ifs.” What if the economy turns down and my investment portfolio collapses? What if my company doesn’t do well next month and I lose my job? What if I get cancer? What if my kids start doing drugs? What if _______, you fill in the blank with the area(s) of life over which you are most prone to worry.
I don’t know for sure if worry is a universal problem, but my guess is that it is. We may worry about different things in different parts of the world, or even from individual to individual, but most of the folks I’ve talked to struggle with worry just like I do.
Jesus addressed it in Matthew 6 as though it was a very common problem. And it was a problem for which He knew the solution: replace worry with trust. And the One to trust is your Heavenly Father. Jesus urged us to give up worry for two reasons:
It doesn’t help. Worry can’t even add an hour to your life.
You don’t need it. God will take care of you. That’s a promise from the lips of Jesus Himself.
Peter said it, too, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
God loves you. God will take care of you. He’s made a promise that He will keep!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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