Healthy Disciples: A LIFE WITHOUT WORRY—Matthew 6:25-34
(Read the text first.)
“Do not worry…”
What would it take for you to stop worrying? Would 10 million dollars be enough money? Would a cure for cancer set your mind at ease?
Worry is a common human thing. People worry about their kids or their marriage. They worry about their jobs or people at work. They worry about the world, or the future of the nation, or the direction the culture is moving.
When we worry, we might feel like we are doing something productive. Wrong! Worrying doesn’t help at all!
As Jesus put it, (Matthew 6:27) “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Worrying is not going to change world events, the culture, or injustice at work. Worrying is not going to improve your health, fix your relationships, or balance your finances. Worrying is not going to help you solve your personal problems.
It never makes sense to worry! But we all do! (At least, I do sometimes.)
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME WORRY? In this text, Jesus teaches 3 ways to reduce worry:
-RAMP UP WORSHIP
***Rev. Robert H. Schuller told of a time in his life when he was consumed by worry and stress. His faith was at a low point, when one morning, he walked out the front door of his house, and saw a rosebush in bloom. In his typical enthusiasm, he went back into the house, and called out to his wife, “Arvella! The roses are blooming.” She quietly said, “Bob, they have been blooming for a couple of weeks.” **
Worry consumes us when we are so focused on our own problems that we lose sight of God and his power.
Jesus said we can overwhelm worry simply by opening our eyes to the power and goodness of God.
Matthew 6:28-30, “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?”
How much did you perceive of the goodness of God before you came to church this morning?
You rolled out of bed, with an amazing, reasonably healthy body. The sun came up, and warmed the earth. The flowers were blooming, and the birds were singing. Many of us awoke to lovely people around us, even if they are definitely not morning people. You were free to come to church without fear of persecution, and you are in a place where you are loved and supported. God is good.
Yet sometimes we don’t pay attention. We need to pay attention in worship, every day.
In the morning, take time to pray. Tell your worries to God, but do more than that. Praise God for who he is and what he does. Meditate on his goodness and power.
At mealtime, give God more than a nod of thanks. Reflect on the goodness of food, health, and God’s faithful provision for your needs.
In the evening, step away from the screen, and take a power walk. Look around at the world, and hum the tune, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
On a regular basis, open your Bible to see the greatness of God. Fall in love with the honest worship of the Psalms. Be awed by the providence and plan of God, and be amazed at the power shown in the resurrection of Jesus and the life of the early church.
Then, before you fall asleep at night, do what 1 Peter 5:7 suggests: “Cast all your anxiety on God because he cares for you.”
Ramp up your worship—not just on Sunday, but every day.
-RE-ALIGN AMBITIONS.
Matthew 6:31 “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’”
Of course, some people are forced to spend most of their time taking care of basic needs, and we should not judge them for being focused on survival. Our worries seem minor compared to theirs.
Jesus speaks to us, however, as he continues, (Matthew 6:32) “For the pagans RUN AFTER all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
Jesus points out that those who don’t know God “run after” their perceived needs. It’s an attitude of always wanting “More,” and always fearing it will “not be enough.”
This causes us to ask ourselves, “How much of my worry is caused by my dissatisfaction, and desire for more than I have?” Is overspending causing worry about debt? Is an impossible standard of success causing anxiety about my career track? Does status-seeking cause anxiety about how people see me? Does my sense of entitlement make me worry that I will not have more than my parents did, or as much as the people around me?
Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6-8, “Godliness with contentment is great gain…If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
What is the answer to discontentment? Jesus goes on to say, (Matthew 6:33) “Seek first [the Father’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
How do you seek the Father’s kingdom righteousness?
Do the right thing at work, trusting God to help you handle the fallout.
Take responsibility for your own actions, and don’t worrying about how other people respond.
Care for other people, and let God worry about whether they change.
Build your business to do good and glorify God, not to prove your worth or build worldly wealth.
If you live that way, can you expect God to give you everything else your heart might desire? Ironically, kingdom righteousness often does prove to be beneficial: A trustworthy employee become a trusted employee, a caring person has rich relationships, and a person who desires to do good also does well. Yet Jesus does not promise immediate gratification, and that is not our goal if we are seeking God’s kingdom righteousness.
Jesus himself was the ultimate example of the truth of what he said. In John 6:38 he said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” He went to the cross, saying to his Father in the garden, “Not my will, but yours be done.” The immediate result was suffering and death, but the end result was life—life for all of us.
Seek first the Father’s kingdom and his righteousness, and let God worry about the results. He can handle it!
-TRUST GOD, ONE DAY AT A TIME.
Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…”
Jesus is not telling us we should not plan for the future. A wise person saves for emergencies, buys insurance to mitigate loss, and makes plans for retirement and eventual death.
Yet many of the things we worry about will not even happen, or they might not be as much of a disaster as we imagine. Mark Twain said, “I’m an old man and I’ve known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
Some troubles do come, however, so Jesus said, (Matthew 6:34) “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Jesus is realistic about trouble, but he says that worrying is borrowing from tomorrow’s trouble.
So don’t worry about tomorrow. Easier said than done! The only way we can do it is by faith that God has tomorrow taken care of.
Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” No matter what the future holds, we know who wins in the end.
But what about tomorrow, or next month, or next year? Maybe you can’t help but think about tomorrow: “What if my husband dies? What if it is cancer? What if my child messes up? What if I don’t get the job?”
Well, in the worst case scenario, God will still be on his throne, with Jesus at his right hand. God will still love you, and he will never forsake you. God’s children will still belong to him, and you will still be one of them.
The apostle Paul was thinking along those lines, when he said in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Tomorrow may bring trouble; we don’t know about that. We only know that God will be with us tomorrow, as he is with us today.
The question for us is, “How much are we with God today?” Today, we can…
…worship God, celebrating his power and care for us.
…seek his kingdom and his righteousness, believing that his kingdom will not fail.
…live with confidence, trusting in his power and love.
