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? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “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: REMEMBER OUR FATHER. The topic in today’s scripture is the one getting the most attention in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. It focuses on a common experience we each know well. Covering Matthew chapters 5 through 7, the Lord would give greater space in dealing with anxiety than any other topic in the sermon.
Anxiety. It is painful. It manifests itself in a wide range of emotions. There is worry, fear, stress, even a social paralysis can happen keeping us aways from other people. The causes? We may list a host of them – uncertainty about the future as early as tomorrow, circumstances that might have severe consequences, and the lack of control over everything.
As we read today’s scripture, three times the Lord gives the command “don’t be anxious” and He would provide the logical reason for obeying it. We are cared for by our Heavenly Father. Jesus would tell us that our Father “cares for the birds” and if our feathered friends don’t worry because of His care, then we must follow their example! And this is not always easy when many things are bombarding us with the goal to get us to doubt God’s love and care which leads us to anxiety.
So, what do we do when those tempting times come? Two things. First, go for a walk. Watch some birds. Don’t be in a hurry and pay attention to just “happy go lucky” they are without a care in the world. Then, ponder what salvation has done. We are adopted children in the forever family of God with the Greatest Father we will ever have! And why is He so great? Many reasons but here is a big one – He loves us with a love committed to our care; the type of care that tells us, “Don’t be anxious. I am near. Remember Your Father.”
PRAYER: “Father, help me to see You always as a sympathetic and kind Father.”
QUOTE: “Don’t fret the cares of life. We have a heavenly Father who cares for our lives.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim