Thursday
Have you ever been unable to sleep because you were worried or anxious about something? (Of course you have, we all have) You know what it is like to have your mind racing, full of anxious thoughts about the past, the present, or the future. What do you do in those moments? How do you deal with your anxiety and worry? In Matthew 6, Jesus actually shows us how a Christian should deal with worry when it threatens to take over our hearts.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 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. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies 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, O you of little faith? - Matthew 6:25-30
In this passage, Jesus is actually showing us how we can argue with our own minds and hearts whenever we are plagued by anxiety. He gives us several arguments that we can use to combat worry in our hearts.
First Argument – “Consider the birds”…this is the providence of God argument. Jesus tells us that God even provides for the birds, He will certainly provide for our needs. Now, Jesus is not some kind of first century hippie saying, “Chill out man, just look at the birds…” He is telling us that just by reflecting on the simple things (like birds) in God’s creation, we can begin to see that God is in control and God will provide, despite how it might look or feel to us in the moment.
It is important to note that in telling us to consider the birds, Jesus is not saying that we should just sit around and do nothing. The famous theologian and bird-watcher John Stott once said, “there may be no harder working creature in all of creation than the common sparrow.” The point is that the birds work, they just don’t worry.
Second Argument – “Consider the flowers”…this is the love of God argument. Many Biblical scholars think that the flowers Jesus was referring to were the scarlet poppies that bloomed on the hills near Jerusalem. These flowers were stunningly beautiful, but their blooms only lasted for 1-2 days. Psalm 8 tells us that we (human beings) are the crown of God’s creation, made in His image. The argument works like this; if that God gave such incredible beauty to a simple flower which will not last but a day or two, what will He do for you as the crown of His creation?
The 15th century Christian mystic Julian of Norwich wrote in her book, Revelations of Divine Love, about an experience she had where she had a vision of a hazelnut in the palm of her hand. As she looked at it, the sudden realization came to her that God made it, God loves it, and God will sustain it. This same realization applies to you and to me! Go made you, God loves you, God will sustain you!
Third Argument – Worry is pointless anyway! In verse 27 Jesus asks the question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” The implication is clear, worrying changes nothing! Have you ever been able to worry yourself out of worrying? In fact, worrying is actually worse than pointless because it only produces more anxiety and worry.
Jeff Frazier
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