MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.”
Matthew 6:25 ESV
CHASING PEACE: YOUR LIFE
There are plenty of people who will give you free advice about your worries. They will tell you: Don’t worry; be happy. Don’t worry; think positive. Don’t worry; you are in charge of your future.
Don’t worry; bite the bullet. Don’t worry; it will get better, maybe. Don’t worry; have another drink, have another hit, have another smoke. Don’t worry; go see your therapist. Don’t worry; it will be over soon.
The questions we are asking this week are; “What does God say about our worry?” and “How can we have peace?” Jesus started Matthew 6:25 with “therefore.” The “therefore” was a result of not serving both God and money from Matthew 6:24. His conclusion was, if we only serve God we will have less worry and more peace. He then gave reasons why we should not worry in the following verses.
Pastor Dwight Pentecost put it this way, “If a man becomes preoccupied with material things and they become the goal of his life, he soon becomes anxious about his physical needs. He becomes preoccupied with what he will eat, what he will drink, what clothing he will wear, and where he will live. This anxious care comes because of a lack of trust in God.”
Don’t worry doesn’t mean don’t be concerned. There are things in life we should be concerned about. However, at the point that concern becomes unhealthy anxiety, it is a warning sign that we need to check in with God. What are your biggest concerns in life? Do you feel like any of those concerns have crossed over into unhealthy worry? Confess your anxiety to God and ask God to give you the faith to trust Him.
