August 11, 2002
Part II
Matthew 6:25-34
For
this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall
eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put
on. Is not life more than food, and the
body than clothing. Look at the birds
of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s
span?
Anxiety and worry are the
bane of the age. We are living in a
world that is heaving with anxiety causing problems. However the problems caused by anxiety and worry are greater than
the problems that cause the anxiety and worry!
Worry is subtle. It starts small and gradually takes over
your entire being. Worry has been
defined as a small trickle of fear that meanders through the mind until it cuts
a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
In Matthew 6:25 the Lord Jesus admonished His disciples and us not to worry. Then He lists some things not to worry about such as food and clothing stating that life consists of more than that.
He enforces this by drawing our attention to the birds of the air. They do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet the Heavenly Father feeds them. Then our Lord affirms that we are of much more value than the birds.
He then stresses a very important point in verse 27, “Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” He is simply saying that we cannot grow when we worry. In fact, worry stunts our spiritual growth.
In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul tells us that we are not to worry about anything but to take our anxieties to the One that can do something about them and, in turn, His peace will “keep our hearts and minds.” This takes practice, folks!
At the end of his life Mark Twain reflected, “I have been young and now I am old. I have worried about a lot of things in my life – most of which have never happened!”
In our next Pen Pulpit we are going to conclude our passage in Matthew 6. We will focus on the sure cure for anxiety. In the meantime keep trusting God and have a happy and worry-free week! God bless.
In His matchless love,
Pastor Charles
Worry is like a rocking chair.
It
will give you something to do but it won’t get you anywhere!