Matthew’s Gospel: Worry

We should never be caught wasting our energy. Worry is a power drain that diverts our human and spiritual resources.

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Worry is a waste of energy—precious personal power put to no productive purpose.

Excuse my alliteration. They say even the sun, the power source of our solar system, will eventually run out of power. We should never be caught wasting our energy. Worry is a power drain that diverts our human and spiritual resources to

  • sleepless nights that produce no rest,
  • fretful days that produce no progress, and
  • endless flights of imagining that take off and land in our heads but never get us anywhere.

Worry skills come to us naturally if we can put 2 and 2 together and see all the things that might happen. We have more contingency plans than we have primary plans. As we worry, PLAN A gets covered up by PLANS B through Q.

“Do not worry.”

Jesus attacks the problem head-on. OK. Right. But how do we NOT worry? His first method is one word—look. He is saying to us, “Get a grip on yourself. You are looking at the wrong things in the wrong places.” Instead of staring at the possibilities of peril, look at the realities of the real world.

Birds, for instance. All of their energy is used for flying, eating, and propagating their kind. They don’t worry at all because they are in the Father’s care.
And look at flowers in the field. God is their Gardener. Their job is to simply be beautiful and add a little grace to the place. No worries here.
All avian energy is spent flying and singing and being beautiful birds. Floral energy is lavished on color and response to the winds attracting both people and bees. No energy is diverted to defense or wasted on worry.

“Your Heavenly Father”

Birds are blessed and flowers flourish because the Father has them. Birds don’t attach themselves to the ground and flowers don’t try to fly. The secret of their worry-free lives is their peace within their calling. The first word from Jesus was, look. Then He said, consider. We might hear Him say, “Stop and think for a minute.”

Does the Heavenly Father have us? Do we have a function in His Kingdom? Do we know what it is? Are we “flying” if we are supposed to fly? Are we standing in the field dancing with the wind being beautiful if that is His call on our lives? If so, then why worry? He’s got us. His record is remarkably good at taking care of His own.

“Seek first the Kingdom.”

One of the most remarkable promises of Jesus is this:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.

This is the answer to poverty and deprivation in the world. Put the Kingdom of God in the highest place in your plans and God will take care of you. You’ll be as free as a flower and as happy as a bird. When some other kingdom supplants the Kingdom of God then we must guard our place in it against all foes. Our limited supply of energy is diverted to these illegitimate pursuits and we find ourselves earthbound with care, wilting in the heat of a pitiless sun.

How much better to be who God called us to be and use all our life’s energy to serve the One who made both the skies and the fields.


Scriptures:
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, forgive me for my worrying. I repent of all the energy I have wasted over the years concerning myself with things  that You had control of all along. Teach me how to turn those well-honed worry skills into meditation skills. Help me look and really see Your hand at work. Help me to consider that You are faithful and have always been faithful and will always be faithful. I want to be as happy as a sparrow and as delightful as a flower in the field. Amen and Amen.


Song:
The Sparrow Song (Think of How He Cares for You)
Words and Music: J.D. Phifer

1. When you are sad downhearted and blue,
Think of how He cares for you.
When things look bad, your courage you lose,
Think of how He cares for you.

Refrain:
Think of the sparrow He feeds with such care,
The flower He waters with dew.
Dwell on the things He’s promised to do.
Think of how He cares for you.

2. When there’s a cross you know you must bear,
Think of how He cares for you.
When you are lost in realms of despair,
Think of how He cares for you.

Refrain


 

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About the Author

Full of passion for Jesus Christ, Stephen Phifer is a third-generation minister with more than three decades of experience as a pastoral artist, worship leader, and conductor.