WORRY
WORRY Take Therefore No Thought Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life..."
Matthew 6:31, "Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? we drink...be clothed"
Matthew 6:34, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow"
There are times that the Lord uses the expression, "Take therefore no thought" as in the latter part of the sixth chapter of Matthew. {Matthew 6:34} It must then, be important enough that we pay special attention. The Lord has just uttered His memorable words "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" inMatthew 6:33.
What our Saviour is saying is that if we understand this passage ofMatthew 6:33, then we have no need to worry about the other things -they "shall be added unto you." God is telling us that He will do the looking after that we require.Matthew 6:34Nor should we worry about tomorrow, for it shall take care of itself. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
There is a question that needs to be asked aboutMatthew 6:34. Why would Jesus finish such positive declarations with a negative statement? There must be a very good reason for doing so. When we begin to examine it closely, we will find that it is really just an extension of His teaching. It is not mere repetition, but is the continuation of His earlier teachings.
Jesus has been dealing with problems that face us in the immediate present. Now, he addresses the future concerns as well. The Lord here shows His profound understanding of human nature and of the problems with which we are confronted in this life. One of the chief of these problems appears to be that of worry.
Worry is a definite powerful force in the life of God’s children in addition to everyone upon the face of the earth. We have not begun to understand it until we realize what a tremendous power it is. We often think of the condition of worry to be negative, a failure on our part to do certain things. Actually, it is a failure to apply our faith. If we do not realize the power of worry we are certain to be defeated. It cannot help us to be overly anxious and burdened to the point of being borne down by the state and condition of things that are actually confronting us, it will take us to the next step. Worry will then go on into the future.
Let us see how our Lord deals with this problem of worry that goes on into the future. He shows us the folly of being anxious about things to come, "the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." If the present is bad enough as it is, why go to meet the future? To go on from day to day is enough in and of itself. We are to be content with that. It is a waste of energy for anyone to worry about tomorrow because we cannot do anything about it. The real question then, is how are we to face the situations which are causing the concern? According to our Lord, the vital thing is not to spend every day of your life in adding up the grand total of everything that has happened, everything that is going on now, and everything that happens in the future that causes us distress and concern.
We must learn to realize that the God who helps us today will be the same God tomorrow, and will help us on tomorrow. His mercy and truth will sustain us along with his mercy. Consider how the Apostle Paul puts it in1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape."
We must now take this one step further. We must never allow our thoughts of, worry of, or concern about tomorrow inhibit in any way our usefulness in the present. There are people so concerned about tomorrow that they are unable to live useful, fruitful lives today. Take the great statement of David, "I have been young, but now I am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." {Psalms 37:25} The Lord is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. {Hebrews 11:6}
Worry is always a failure to apply our faith. Faith does not work automatically; you have to apply it. The Psalmist put it this way inPsalms 42:5;Psalms 43:5, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me?" This is how faith works. It can not be unused or quiet within us. Faith must be exercised for it to grow. To use our Lord’s analogy, you have to dig round and about it, and pay attention to it. Then, and only then will you see it begin to grow.
Finally, we must just refuse to worry or to allow it to get the best of us. One of my favorite or pet scriptures over the years has been to "... cast our cares on Him, for he CARETH for us." When we count our blessings, we can see how God has taken care of us in the past. When we stop for a little while and view the handiwork of God, we are able to say; "Surely He is watching over us today." Then, and only then, are we able to leave the future in the hands of an almighty God. One that is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. May God bless your ability to guard against worry as we add to our faith in one that is worthy of being praised.