Fri, Nov 6th - 12:49PM

Let us turn to Matthew 6:25-34 and check out the significant address that Christ used to clarify His message and ministry.  This speech stood out in stark contrast to the mainstream teachings of that particular day's religious professionals, the Pharisees.  God's conclusions about worry are just as meaningful today as they were to 1st century listeners.  Let's look at them now:

1)   Worry keeps us from enjoying what we have - From verse 25 we find this, "...Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?"  Worry focuses our attention upon what we do not have, or upon what we might lose, and strips away the enjoyment of what we already possess.  It prompts us to assume responsibility that is not ours to handle.

2)   Worry makes us forget our worth - From verse 26 see this, "...Are you not worth much more than they (the birds who neither sow, reap, or gather food into barns)?"  Worry makes us forget that God is not the heavenly Father of birds, but He is the heavenly Father of man.  It makes us feel forgotten, overlooked, and unimportant.  If He will feed a bird, which is a lesser creature, He surely will feed us without fail.

3)   Worry is completely useless - From verse 27 we find, "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?"  The reference is to the fact that none of us have the ability to add time to our lifetimes or to increase our physical height.  Quite the contrary, worry results in subtraction, not addition.  It leads to the loss of sleep, the loss of time, the loss of peace, the loss of energy, and ultimately to the loss of length of lifetime.  Our lives will be shortened by our constant worrying over things, it will not be improved nor increased by being anxious. 

4)   Worry erases the promise of God from your mind - Within verses 30-32 we find this:  "...Do not be anxious then, saying, "What shall we eat...drink...wear...Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  We tend to forget what King David learned:  "I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread (Psalm 37:25)."  God's love for man motivates Him to care for those who walk with Him.  Nothing can separate the saint from that love, as can be read in Romans 8:38-39.

5)   Worry is characteristic of the heathen, not the Christian - Looking at verse 32 we can see this:  "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek..."  When any of us exclude God's personal involvement in our life, we have no one substantial on whom to lean.  For all practical purposes, the worrier is alone and on their own and lives as the one who lives without God in their life.

That is all for today beloved.  Next time I shall introduce a family of worriers to you, a well known family found in the Bible.  We shall see what the fruit of worrying can become.  Until then, may our God show you His presence in your life.  May you hear His voice calling to you from the high places.  May you heed His voice which may be heard from every part of creation.

~Eric