Do Not Worry!
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about
your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food and the body more than clothing?"
Matthew 6: 25
The theme of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34 is sometimes
misunderstood. The theme isn't, “God will provide everything
you need according to your timetable”; the theme is,
“Do not worry” (verses 25, 31, 34).
Why would He exhort us not to worry if there would
never be an occasion (temptation) to worry—a time
when our needs seemed not to be met?
God made similar promises of provision to His covenant people,
Israel (Deuteronomy 15:4-6). But at the same time, He said, “For
the poor will never cease from the land” (verse 11). How could
there be poor in the midst of promises of plenty?
Because we live in a fallen world; things happen; crops fail.
In such cases, the Israelites were to meet the needs of their
poor brethren (verses 7-10), just as the Church would later
do (Acts 4:32-37). God’s provision comes in many ways.
Jesus said, in essence, “Don’t worry.
Trust in God. Seek Him and He will
care for you” (Matthew 6:33-34).
"Our behavior in times of need,
difficulty and of crisis really
proclaims what we are."
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
