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: WE CHOOSE.  We are going to be tempted to worry today.  Maybe even started worrying about today long before today became today!   In fact, we might just find worry is a very close “friend” to us most days.  Oh, I am not saying we like to worry. I am sure we don’t.  No Christian wakes up or stays awake at night excited about worrying about something or someone.  And some people are more prone to worry than others, but all of us will struggle with the sin of worry.  Yes, sin of worry.  Why is it sin?  The main reason is because we are commanded not to do so.

In today’s scripture, Jesus gives us a command not to be anxious three times.  We may substitute the words “fret, stew” and yes, the word “worry” for anxious and not do injustice to the commands of our Lord. But the reality of life in a fallen world is there are a lot of things tempting us to worry.  For the Christian, worry is optional.  It is a choice because if the Lord Jesus commands us not to be anxious or worry, then it comes down to obeying or disobeying Him.  I know. That is quite uncomfortable because worrying seems to come natural. It does, for the unbeliever.  The believer, however, has been given the power to obey God’s commands, all His commands, even the ones like “do not be anxious” (worry).

Remember, we cannot obey God without His grace, but we can obey God by His grace.  The grace that saves us in not only the grace that keeps us but empowers us to be obedient to all the commands of God.

So, when the temptation to worry comes, and it will, stop and remember Jesus’ command and then thank God for the grace not to worry.  As we do, the temptation to worry will surrender to the triumphant grace of God in our lives!

PRAYER: Father, make me see how worry never produces anything good in my life.

REFLECTION:  Worry is not a small issue with God.  It is the fruit of an unbelieving heart.