So don’t worry saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31-34 HCSB
The media loves to create panic. If a storm is out there, they try to stir up everyone from Texas to Florida and create this widespread panic. I heard a couple days ago docks were shut down due to a strike. The media is encouraging us to panic buy things like coffee, sugar and toilet paper. Economists call this panic buying and urge against it. I just learned this morning that the strike is now over.
As Christians, we should not panic but should be prepared. Jesus encourages this in the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. However, our preparation looks a bit different. We can prepare but not panic. We trust in God. The first step in our preparation should be prayer.
The Bible makes it clear that we are not supposed to worry. Our Scripture passage for today begins with Jesus saying, “So, don’t worry…”. In Philippians 4:6, Paul says “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Verse 7 continues by saying, “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Worrying robs us of our peace and that is just what the devil wants to do.
We are told in John 10:15 that a thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. The devil loves to steal your peace. Worrying robs us of our peace.
Jesus began in Matthew 6:19 talking about storing up possessions and allowing money to be your master. He warned against such things. He went on in Matthew 6:24 talking about anxiety. He gave the cure for anxiety in our Scripture passage for today.
Worry that goes unchecked becomes panic. I would love to say that I never worry and never panic, but I don’t want to lie to you. I have learned, however, that worry is a state of mind where we allow our fear to overcome our faith. It’s easy to tell someone to not worry, but when the going gets tough it is often very difficult to not worry. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:27 that worrying doesn’t add anything to our life span. In fact, anxiety can cause many health problems.
How do we stop worrying? Well, according to Jesus Himself, the cure for anxiety is for us to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. How do we seek God? Jeremiah 29 tells us we will seek God and find Him when we search for Him with all our heart. So, what does it mean when Jesus says we should seek the kingdom of God? Other passages refer to the kingdom of heaven. These statements refer to the sphere of salvation. Jesus urges us to seek salvation. When we accept Christ as our Savior and surrender our lives to Him, we receive the full benefits of His provision and His protection.
Romans 8:31 says if God is for us who can be against us. Paul tells the Philippians in 4:19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to HIs riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Peter said in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast all our care on God because He cares for us.
When we seek God with all our heart, we make it all about Him. We want to study His word. We are eager to learn all about Him. As we learn about Him, we see that He loves us enough that while we were lost in our sin, He died for us (Romans 5:8). It will stand to reason if someone loves us this much, they will take good care of us, right?
There is nothing wrong with being prepared, but don’t worry. Trust in God. He’s got this!
Have a great day!