I’m sure that all of us have worried at least one time in our lives. If we’re honest with ourselves, we all worry more than we should: about our kids, about our jobs, about our future. Maybe you are worrying right now about something. Is one of your children not making the best choices for their life? Are there too many things to do at work and not enough arms to do them all? Are you worried that you won’t have enough money to live on when you retire?
It states in the dictionary that the definition for worry is “to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts”. I bet none of us think that we are tormenting ourselves when we worry. But, that’s exactly what we are doing, tormenting ourselves. Our worry is just that – OUR worry. Our neighbor isn’t worried about it, our children aren’t worried about it, our spouse isn’t even worried about it. Only WE are worried about it. Do you see how selfish this is sounding. We are effecting our own life by our own worry.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Stopping panic attacks in it’s place might be hard to do on your own. When we worry, we are effecting others, as well. You see, when you worry, your mind is on the thing that you are worried about. Life is passing you by. You might be unable to focus on the task at hand, forget birthdays, or forget to just laugh! You become consumed with your worry.
When you worry, you are telling God that you don’t trust Him to take care of you. You are actually telling God that He, the Creator of everything, is unable to take care of your problems.
Jesus has the answer. In the NASB version of Matthew 6:25-34, the title of the section is “The Cure for Anxiety”. In the NIV and NKJV, the title is “Do Not Worry”. I like the NASB a little better because it tells me that worry doesn’t have to be a part of my life forever. There is a cure! Jesus is telling us the cure.
Matthew 6:25-34 NASB 25″For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34″So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
There it is, plain and simple: stop worrying! There’s no reason for it. Here are some things that I get from reading this passage:
v. 25 Don’t worry! Life is more than what you are worried about.
v. 26 God takes care of all of the birds. Don’t you think He’s going to take care of you?
v. 27 Worry will actually take productive time away from your day, not add it.
v. 28-29 God takes care of the flowers. They are clothed better than anything we, as humans, can even think of.
v. 30 “You of little faith!” That’s exactly what worry is: a lack of faith. We don’t believe what God tells us.
v. 31-32 God knows what we need. Notice how He said “need” not “want”. He doesn’t give us everything we want, but He will give us what we need. Sometimes we need to reassess what is truly important in our lives.
v 33 His kingdom and His righteousness need to be first! Our priorities need to be in order.
v 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We are all given 24 hours in a day. Are you going to spend it worrying about what isn’t getting done or what you don’t have, or are you going to spend it putting His kingdom first by praising Him for everything in your life (good and bad).