MATTHEW 6:25–34 – “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. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LEAVE TOMORROW TILL TOMORROW. It’s real. It’s part of fallen nature. It’s a daily battle. It varies in intensity. It also differs with individuals. Some are more prone to its paralyzing grip than others. It’s serious because Jesus commands us not to do it. And Christians are not immune from this beast pouncing upon them over so many things. This “it” is anxiety. I don’t need to define it. We know it by experience, but here is what a dictionary provides for us – a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
Jesus isn’t the only Person to address the sin of anxiety. The Apostles Paul and Peter weigh in – do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you (Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7), And yes, anxiety is a sin. Why? Go back to today’s scripture and read how many times our Lord gives the command “do not be anxious.” He only needed to say it once, but He didn’t. He repeated Himself and that for emphasis. Anxiety is a sin simply because it is disobeying a command of the Lord which defines sin. I know. I know. It is very uncomfortable to be confronted with anxiety being a sin because of the ease we allow it in our lives. If we “peel back the layers” of anxiety and go to the core, it comes from unbelief, a mistrust in God and His promises. But there is more. Anxiety, not confronted in the life of the Christian with spiritual means, will cause significant spiritual damage.
To fret, worry, and be anxious about the “what ifs” of a not promised tomorrow only distracts us from the Lord today, defeats us in the spiritual battles we are to fight today, and drains us of strength to endure all we face today. Our walks with the Lord are walked today, not in the paths traveled yesterday, and not in the perceived paths in a yet-to-be-realized tomorrow.
As Jesus says, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” so let’s leave tomorrow till tomorrow.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to leave all my anxieties over tomorrow with You who hold my tomorrow.”
QUOTE: “To be so concerned about the cares of life that might happen tomorrow, steals today’s strength.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim