Go Rest High on that Mountain - Pt 9

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34 ESV).

The last argument says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” In other words, God has appointed to each day its portion of pleasure and trouble. And as your days so shall your strength be (v. 34). So don’t misappropriate God’s allotted troubles for tomorrow. Don’t bring them forward into today in the form of anxiety. Believe that God will be God tomorrow. The main point of all this is clear and unmistakable: Jesus does not want his followers to be anxious. He does not secure his kingdom by keeping his subjects in a state of worry. On the contrary, the more primary, the more central his kingship becomes in our lives, the less anxiety we will have. Jesus came, lived, died, and rose from the dead, in order that he might reign as King over an anxiety-free people. I know that sounds much easier than it is; however, remember what your paygrade is. It is his work in your life that makes the difference. Let me give you an image to remind you when things spiral out of your control. It is the way of the dandelion. The seeds of this delicate little flower of the fields are a fragile little bundle. They are like the opportunities of life. See all your circumstances as something that will provide you the means to become. Look again at the dandelion. They willingly empty themselves. They allow themselves to be reduced to nothing but a stem, as their seeds are gradually scattered to wherever the wind blows them. They share the little they have with the rest of the garden. They offer their beauty to the wind, for the renewal and the growth of other flowers. So let the wind blow it’s hardest. It will only make whatever of Jesus is in your life take root in others. It will be okay, God has got this! This belief and this alone is the way to freedom from anxiety.