Matthew 6:25-33
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)
This is not just good advice – it’s a command from the Lord of glory.
If you don’t follow the command, you’re being disobedient to the Lord.
We worry about tomorrow, but the Lord says we must not be anxious.
We want to argue with the Lord, but He lays it down, commanding us not to be anxious.
When people are anxious they become restless and irritable.
The Greek words for anxiety have at its roots ‘tumbling thoughts’, fear of danger – real or imagined.
Four considerations:
- The Foolishness of Anxiety
Our bodies are meant to be used for what God intended. It is foolish to think that it is all about food and clothing. - The Father of Abundance
Do you know how wealthy your heavenly Father is?
He feeds the birds of the air. You are of more value than they.
If you pray, think and do right then the God of peace will be with you (Phil. 4:6-9). - The Futility of Anxiety
Being anxious is like a rocking chair – you are very busy, but going nowhere. - The Fountain of Abundance
All the ‘-isms’ of the world will not give you the abundance you need. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and the abundance that you need will be given to you.
Seeking God’s righteousness means to love God above all and your neighbour as yourself. It is to die to self and be born again.
CH Spurgeon said:
Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it just empties today of its joys.