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As many of you may know, this past year has been,
what most would say, difficult for me. On the surface, the source of the difficulty in my
life would appear to be the fact that I was laid off from my job last
May. In the world’s eyes,
this is a terrible thing to happen to a 48 year old, divorced man. And
that is exactly how I perceived the situation in the beginning. I worried constantly about how I
was going to meet my obligations.
I worried so much that, at times, worry was bringing me to
physical illness.
In fact, this whole year has been a positive
thing! How can I say that?
Well, in the final wash, what has actually happened is that God is
teaching me (I am still learning) that I have been relying on self to
provide when, in fact, I should have trusted Him. As time has passed, this lesson
has been revealed to me more and more. It is one of those lessons that,
when you finally figure it out, makes you wonder why you didn’t see it
before. After all, Jesus
told us many times that we should not worry. I read it, I thought that I understood
it, but in reality, I didn’t get it! I didn’t claim His promise!
So, this morning as I was reflecting on my past
year, I realized that I am not the only one who worries and I thought
that I would share this lesson with you.
The major teaching on worry in the New Testament was
given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:25-34). In that
passage He gave us the antidote to worry. He was speaking to devoutly
religious people (like many of us) who were looking for the Messiah but
were not ready for His coming. Jesus mentioned worry 6 times in these 10
verses. What He had to say speaks to us as we cope with our fast-paced,
stress-filled, materialistic society.
Jesus said, in essence, "You are filled with
worry because you aren't really living by faith. You're too concerned
about food and clothing and things. Put Me and My kingdom first and
you'll be all right."
Remember, the Lord had just been telling His
followers to make choices that would lay up treasures in heaven, not on
earth (6:19-24). We can almost hear the silent objections of the crowd,
"Oh, sure. If I lived like He says--always thinking about
heaven--I'd starve to death. A person's got to eat, you know."
That's probably the reason Jesus began His teaching with the command,
"Do not worry" (v.25).
Causes of worry (Matt 6:25-32). Unless His
followers stopped worrying about the cares of earth, they would never be
free to store up treasures in heaven. Jesus said that worrying about the
essential needs of life is unnecessary. If God takes care of the birds of
the air and the flowers of the fields, He certainly will take care of His
children.
We do have a responsibility to work and provide for
the needs of our families and ourselves. The apostle Paul said, "If
anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess. 3:10). Jesus
wasn't teaching that we are to become passive recipients. His point was
that we should not fret, worry, or be anxious about our needs.
Many of us, however, are worried about much more
than meeting the essential needs of life. We want to be seen at the
"in" restaurants, have a car a little better than our
neighbors, build a house with a little more square footage, dress in the
latest fashions, and many other things that our society views as important.
We've become so accustomed to our materialism that we worry about what
will happen if we don't keep up.
Jesus said that all our worrying is unnecessary. He
recognized it as a real problem, but a needless one. Birds have to eat,
but they don't get migraines worrying about it. Flowers "wear
clothes," but they don't have to be treated for ulcers. Why? Because
their heavenly Father takes care of them.
Worry's hidden agenda (v.30). The underlying
cause of worry is identified in Jesus' words, "O you of little
faith." We're burdened down with care because we do not trust God.
We don't really believe that He is running our world efficiently. We've
stopped trusting Him to care for our needs, even though He promised that
He would. We've shifted our eyes from heaven to earth. We're trusting in
ourselves instead of trusting in God. We've taken the responsibility for
the future onto our own shoulders. We feel that we can't trust God with
important matters like that any longer!
Jesus' antidote for worry (vv.33-34). Jesus
said that worry boils down to a matter of priorities. We worry about food
and clothing, and competing, and controlling the future, instead of
concentrating on what is most important. "Seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness," He said, "and all these things
shall be added to you" (v.33). Exercise faith. Give priority to God
and you'll lay up treasures in heaven.
When we listen to Jesus, we realize that getting rid
of worry is a matter of choice. When we choose to trust God rather than
ourselves, our worries will subside. The answer lies with us.
Are you obsessed with worry about having enough to
eat? What you'll wear? If your house is big enough? Whether you've got
the right car? If your retirement is secure? A lot of Christians in our
world have learned from hard experience that those things aren't nearly
as important as we think, and that God keeps His Word to provide. They've
learned that the things that nourish faith are the most important,
because in the real tough issues of life it is faith that they need the
most.
Curtis
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