Do Not Worry

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus begins this portion of the Sermon on the Mount with an exhortation: Do not be anxious about your life…  I am thankful He didn’t stop there. We should pay attention to the wisdom of Jesus here. He knew it wasn’t enough for us to just be told, “quit worrying!” While that is a legitimate thing to say, it isn’t all that helpful as a stand-alone statement. We need more, and, thankfully, Jesus gives us more.

In Isaiah 1:18 we hear the Lord say, “Come, let us reason together…” Let’s be honest…The Lord is under no obligation to reason with us. He is God and we are not. Yet, in His mercy toward us, He does give us good reasons for His exhortations and commands. He isn’t a “just do what I tell you and don’t ask questions” kind of God.

In this case, Jesus doesn’t just command us to stop worrying. He gives us solid reasons why we shouldn’t worry. We need that. We need ammunition in the battle against worry. We need ways to fight against it. Jesus gives us what we need. And He gives us things that are readily available to all of us. He tells us to let the birds and flowers, and grass teach us. He reminds us who we are. We are God’s children. As such, we are watched over and cared for. He jabs us with a little humor about how worry isn’t going to make us live longer and rebukes us for having such small faith. He gives us something to do too. He gives us something great to occupy our time and thoughts with – the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

Jesus is merciful. He tells us to stop worrying, and then He loads us up with an armful of tools with which to battle against anxiety.