At the root of anxiety and worry is a focus upon you. We worry whether or not we will be able to meet our house payment. We worry whether or not we will have abundance in our retirement. Will my needs be met? That’s what causes your anxiety. Jesus gives us six reasons why you shouldn’t be anxious.
The reality of Life ‘Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?’ (Mt.6:25). Life is far more complex than food and clothing. You need air to breathe, lungs to take the oxygen out of the air, heart to beat to bring blood to the lungs, blood to carry your oxygen to your body, etc.
If God sustains the greater, more difficult aspect of our living (i.e. our biological functions), he will also sustain the lesser aspect of our living (i.e. supplying our needs). The Birds ‘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’ (Mt.6:26).
When each morning dawns, the birds begin with nothing. They arise and go find the food that God has provided for them. Have you ever seen a skinny, sickly bird that looks like he hasn’t eaten in days? If God provides for the birds not made in His image, certainly He will provide for your needs, who are made in His image! The Uselessness of Worry ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?’ (Mt. 6:27). Nobody ever passed an exam or built and house or ever paid a bill by just worrying about it. Worry can cause sleeplessness and ulcers and trouble. There is nothing good that worry and anxiety can accomplish.
We often can excuse our anxious behavior, thinking that there are legitimate reasons for us to worry. Do you ever excuse your worldliness? ‘Oh, yes, I love God, but I’m extremely worldly’. Jesus says that there is nothing for which we ought to worry. The Lilies ‘See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin’ (Mt.6:28). The Greek word ‘katamaqete’ means, ‘consider with great intensity’ or ‘examine closely’. Jesus tells us examine closely, flowers neither spin nor weave, God just clothes them. Flowers are temporary. You are not. The implication here is that God will care for you, since you will exist eternally.
You are of much more value to God than the flowers. You ought not to worry, because God provides for flowers. ‘Will He not much more do so for you?’ (Mt.6:30). The Father’s Care ‘Your heavenly Father knows that you need them’ (Mt.6:32). Believers are to be examples before the world as a testimony of how our heavenly Father cares for us. When we are anxious about something, we demonstrate our lack of faith in our Father to provide for us. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus exhorts us to pray in light of the fact that ‘your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him’ (Mt. 6:8). For believers in Jesus Christ (those who have repented from their sin and embraced His free forgiveness), we know that we have become a child of God, a fellow heir of Jesus Christ.
The apostle John described it well, ‘See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God’ (1Jn.3:1). If we are children of God, we are loved. If we are loved, God will certainly care for us. The Troubles of Today ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’ (Mt.6:34). Reflecting on her long life, an old woman once said, ‘I’ve had a lot of trouble in my life — most of which never happened!’ Anxiety demands interest on trouble before it comes due. Anxiety zaps the energy we need today to face the problems of today.
That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t plan for tomorrow. Jesus called the man foolish who didn’t calculate the cost of the tower he set out to build (Lk.14:28). So, it is appropriate for our future thoughts and plans. But when our future thoughts turn to anxiety, they are wrong. What will cure my anxiety? Proper thinking ‘For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life’ (Mt.6:25). What reason? The reason that earthly things are temporary, but eternal things last forever. The here and now isn’t what will last. It is what we store up for eternity that will last. We need to see this. We need to understand this. The problem with worry is that we think too much about the wrong things and too little about the right things.
When we think correctly about God and His provision, we will think correctly about our response. We are anxious toward the future, because of our improper view of God. We need to think! Don’t focus on your problems. Focus on your Provider. Faith ‘O you of little faith?’ (Mt.6:30). This actually is an indictment against those who worry. It is our lack of trust with these things that cause us to worry. We need a proper perspective of things, which comes through proper thinking. We need to believe in God’s word, which comes through faith. A kingdom focus ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Mt.6:33). Simply put, when we seek God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, our physical resources will be provided for us. I would press all of you daily to seek His face, in worship, in prayer, in Bible reading. These are the primary means through which God has given us to focus our attention upon His kingdom.
Author: Mr. Prabhu Kumar is a postgraduate student at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
