Do Not Worry—Trust God Instead
Matthew 6:25-34
Introduction.
The Bible is a book of promises.
That’s what a covenant is!
Some are unconditional—never flood the world again.
Most are conditional—salvation.
Time and again, we are shown in Scripture that God keeps His promises!
It is so easy to look at these events in hindsight and say they should have trusted in God.
It is so much more difficult for us to put our trust in God in the moment.
Consider Joseph, while he was rotting in prison for at least two years for a crime he did not commit.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, touches on things that concern us all from time to time (6:25).
Very few of us these days are worried about spending years in jail as Joseph did.
Most of us at some point or another have been concerned with our material needs.
This is perfectly natural—but it is also natural to hate and to lust.
The point is to rise above these things.
Let us consider what Jesus has to say about worry.
Birds & Lilies (6:26-30a).
Faithless & Faithful (6:30b-33).
Body.
Birds & Lilies (6:26-30a).
Jesus offers two illustrations of things in creation that are taken care of.
In fact, we can look at all of creation and see how well balanced everything is.
This is the science of ecology, looking at different ecosystems to see how different animals and plants interact with one another and coexist.
God has designed this delicate natural balance—circle of life.
God tells us of our worth compared to the animals and plants, how much greater.
Birds of the air are provided for (6:26).
Various types of birds eat different things.
Some eat seeds, fruits (berries), nectar, bugs, worms.
There are always sources of food that these birds can forage for.
God promised after the Flood that “seedtime and harvest … shall not cease … while the earth remains” (Gen. 8:22).
It is through God’s promise that they are taken care of.
Worrying does us no good in the long run (6:27).
Mark Twain: “Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.”
Erma Bombeck: “Worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.”
Leo Buscaglia: “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
Calvin Coolidge: “If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”
Charlie Brown: “I’ve developed a new philosophy: I only dread one day at a time.”
Corrie Ten Boom: “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”
Lilies of the field are clothed brilliantly (6:28-30a).
They have all their beautiful colors and scents given by God.
They attract insects and other creatures to pollinate them.
Not to mention, God has given us a sense of beauty that we might appreciate His Creation.
Jesus tells us that their beauty outweighs even Solomon’s raiment—this was at the height of Israelite wealth and dominance.
This was through the promises to David and Solomon, which extended from promises to Abraham, and even to Eve.
Could we say that not even the Royal Family of England is so elegant?
Through that same promise in Gen. 8:22 these flowers will still bloom and be provided for.
How much greater is our worth over birds and lilies?
Faithless & Faithful (6:30b-34).
Jesus says that they are of little faith (6:30b).
If we are lacking in faith, we are lacking in trust!
Let us never forget that “without faith, it is impossible to please [God]” (Heb. 11:6).
The Israelites, through their lack of faith, worried constantly about food and water (Num. 14:11) – “How long will these people reject Me? How long will they not believe Me?” – So many miracles, yet they often complained, their expression of unbelief.
Our worry is an expression of unbelief.
It is the Gentiles, the faithless, who seek after these things (6:31-32a).
Jesus here is using this to describe the people without God.
The spiritual Gentiles for us would be the people of the world.
They have no faith, so they seek after these things, building their treasure on earth.
Their master is mammon, and they do not serve the Lord.
To them, life is not more than food nor the body more than clothing (cf. 6:25).
By contrast, the faithful are told what to do (6:33-34).
Build treasure in heaven (6:19-21).
Have the Lord as their Master rather than mammon (6:24).
Put another way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
Our priorities must be in place!
God knows you need food and clothing, and if you look to Him, He’ll look after you!
Do you trust Him? Do you believe Him? Is He a liar? If you worry, that’s what you’re calling Him!
But we have to do our part—seeking Him first! Not even after food or clothing which are the basic necessities.
There is something more of a necessity than even these things—the Lord.
Even when bad things happen to us, we will make it through! And even if we don’t: “to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Phil 1:21).
If we are seeking His kingdom first, we do not have to worry about our fate!
What promises from God do we have that we should trust in?
The birds and the lilies have the promise from Gen. 8:22 that their sources of sustenance will continue until the very end.
Here we have His promise to provide for our physical needs one way or another.
We do NOT have a promise of physical wealth, but spiritual wealth (John 10:10).
We do NOT have a promise to be happy as the world sees it, but we are encouraged to be content with what we have (Phil. 4:11) – you’d be surprised what you can do without.
We do NOT have a promise to live this life pain-free, but we are promised that His grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9).
And we are told how to be anxious for nothing and to get the peace of God (Phil. 4:6-7): prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Most importantly, we have God’s promise of salvation if we meet His conditions—they are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
Conclusion.
Because God provides for His children, because we are seeking out His kingdom and His righteousness first, we do not have to worry about tomorrow!
Even in the model prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread” (6:11), Jesus is teaching us not to worry about tomorrow.
Do we trust in God? Then we have no reason to worry.
“But you don’t know what I’m going through; you don’t know what it’s like.”
I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m asking you to trust in God!
Don’t believe me when I say God will provide, believe Him!
Let us put our trust in Him and not be like the Israelites in the wilderness.
If you haven’t yet put your trust in Him, why not do that today.
His conditions for salvation are not burdensome: HBRCB.
Then to come back to Him if you need to make things right: RCP.
We all worry from time to time: Let us remember this particular father’s words in Mark 9:24: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
If you need the Lord to help your unbelief, to keep you from worrying about tomorrow, and you want the prayers of the church to help with that, please come forward …