Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Why Worry?

Matthew 6:25-34

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?

Jesus is telling us that the food we depend on for life is not as important than our life itself, how we live our life. Birds don't work like we do, but God cares enough for them to see that they eat. And we are much more valuable than birds. And worrying will subtract from the hours of our 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? 

Do we tend to be more concerned about the fashion of our apparel, or how new our outfits are, collecting more clothes than we can wear, rather than knowing we have something appropriate to cover our nakedness? 

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. 

When we worry, who are we trusting to provide these basic needs? Our own abilities, or our Father in Heaven? Are we focused on acquiring as much as we can of the best this world has to offer? Or comparing our belongings with others' things? If we have our trust in God and are not focused on the things of this world, like people who don't even know God at all, then we won't need to worry.

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 God and His ways for us, then we won't be worrying; we will be trusting our Father in Heaven Who knows better than we do what it is we really need, and that includes all the things of this world for our Earthly existence while we're here. And we only need to see one day at a time, and solve today's problems today. "Don't trouble trouble 'till trouble troubles you" is an old saying I heard a long time ago, that expresses this idea: don't be concerned about what might happen, if it also might not happen. Don't let your imagination dream up all kinds of scenarios that may never happen. Just be content with what you have each day.

God knows exactly what will happen every day of our lives, and has already planned to meet all our needs through everything that happens. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!