07/01/2020 DON’T WORRY
Matthew 6:25 “So my counsel is: Don’t worry about things--- food, drink, and clothes. For you already have life and a body---and they are far more important than what to eat and wear. [Living Bible translation]
Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his/her life? (Or a single cubit to his/her height) [New International translation]
Matthew 6:34 [D]o not worry about tomorrow…. [New International translation] GOD will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time. [Living Bible translation]
Summary
There are a number of scriptures in the Bible about worry. Psalms 55:22 tells us to give our burdens (whatever we worry about) to the LORD. Psalms 55:22 assures us that “HE will carry them.” “HE will not permit the godly to slip or fall.” In John 14:27, JESUS promises us peace. Comforting HIS disciples, HE tells them (and us) “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” In 1Peter 5:7, we are told to “Let HIM have all your worries and cares, for HE is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” In Psalms 37:1-3 we are told to “Fret not” because of evildoers but instead to “trust in the LORD.”
One of the longest discourses on “worry” is found in the sixth chapter of Matthew. It is interesting that this discourse occurs right after the discourse on prayer. Right after prayer about food (“Give us this day our daily bread); right after a prayer that was prefaced with there is really no need to ask GOD for anything, because HE already knows exactly what you need (because HE is GOD and ALL KNOWING), there is a discourse on worry. It was as if the writer knew that even after we prayed that instead of leaving our concerns with GOD, we would have a tendency to pick up those concerns, put them in our mental “backpacks,” swing them back over our “shoulders” and walk away from our prayer altars as burdened down with fear and worry as we had been before we bowed down to pray. So, after teaching about prayer, knowing our nature, JESUS gives us some instructions about worry.
In Matthew 6:25, we are told not to worry about “things.” Although food, clothing and drink are mentioned specifically, we could easily add hundreds of other “things”---like, cars that need repair, computers or phones that malfunction, overextended credit cards, bills, etc.
As a practical matter, Matthew 6:27 reminds us that “worry” is a useless exercise or depletion of energy. Worry “solves” nothing. It “adds” nothing to resolve the problem. It is just “negative” energy. It grows nothing. It does not grow faith or trust in GOD.
Matthew 6:34 tells us that worrying about tomorrow is actually a distraction preventing us from putting our full energy into today. Worry robs us of “present time.” Instead of living in and enjoying “the moment,” we are constantly trying to look around the next bend thinking we can prevent a collision. This kind of behavior is completely in opposition to a daily life of prayer. Like the Israelites who were given “manna” (i.e. bread of heaven) in the wilderness---bread which could not be stored, but had to be “gathered” each day (Exodus 16:15-21), we have to trust GOD on a daily basis too. This is why we pray: Give us this day our daily bread. We live one day at a time, in GOD, with GOD, in CHRIST JESUS. GOD will take care of our tomorrows!
HOW WORRY AFFECTS THE BODY
While some concern or heightened awareness can be healthy and can even motivate a person to achieve their best, excessive or chronic worry, on the other hand, can interfere with appetite, lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep and job performance. Chronic worry and anxiety can cause an outpouring of stress hormones which can have serious physical consequences, including:
- suppression of the immune system
- digestive disorders
- muscle tension
- short-term memory loss
- premature coronary artery disease
- heart attack