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SERMON SUMMARY If anxiety comes as a result of having been distracted from the things of the Lord, we must make our minds singular in their focus again. In this message we'll to zero in on those truths which provide the remedy. |
Message begins at approx. the 30 min mark.
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Good morning! Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 6. We are going to return to the section we began examining two weeks ago. We are looking at verses 25-34. and I know you have been anxiously awaiting this message. That’s because we are dealing with the issue of anxiety.
Today we are going to continue examining this subject. We are actually going to get into some of the remedies for anxiety. And when you hear that I say “remedies” you should know that yes, there is a way to solve the issue. The problem of anxiety is something from which you can experience deliverance. That’s what Christian sanctification is all about.
Sanctification is the process by which we become more and more holy as a Christian. We are delivered from the consequences of sin when we first come to the Lord. He saves us from sin’s curse. That’s part of what we call our justification. But as we progress through the Christian life the Lord continues to save us from the presence and power of sin. We find ourselves growing in holiness and experiencing more of the blessings of Christ’s saving grace.
So, as we come to the issue of anxiety, this should give you some good hope if you are one who does struggle with it. If you zero in on this area of your life and seek to bring God’s Word and power to bear on it in a very intentional way, you can find that God can deliver you from it.
And much of what you need is found here in our text today. Our Lord Jesus is laying out for you the precious remedies you need to gain the quietness that He alone can afford.
With that said, please follow along as I read Matthew 6:25-34.
“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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Introduction
Well, we are in our second message of this series on anxiety. You may remember that we came to this section because we had been looking at the issue of money. If every there was a reason why people get anxious, it is over their finances. So Jesus deals with that topic in a very express way.
And the great thing about this passage is that it can be extended to many other areas having to deal with anxiety. So, even if your problem isn’t specifically financial anxiety, there’s still much you can learn from this passage.
But, before we dive into the passage, it would be good for us to begin with a little review. Last time we were together I said we are going to be addressing three basic questions over the course of this series. First, there is the question of orientation: what is anxiety. Then, secondly, we want to ask why it is we should not be worried. Then, thirdly, how can we prevent anxiety?
We began last time with the simple question, “What is anxiety?”
I. What is anxiety? How should we understand it?
And we said that the Bible sets forth a different understanding than much of the world around us. Today it is thought of in medical terms. It is supposedly a mental or medical condition. It is often thought of as a disorder of the brain. But we said that those definitions come from a materialistic worldview. They arrive at those understandings because the so called experts believe man to be merely a physical creature, who does not have a soul.
The Scriptural understanding is that anxiety is a spiritual issue. The Biblical view of man is that we are composed of a body and a soul. And anxiety or worry, while it may have some physical symptoms, it is ultimately a problem of sin. Specifically, it occurs when our minds are not “stayed upon Jehovah.”
And we said that the word for anxiety or worry comes from a word that means “to be distracted” or “to be divided.” And we said we experience this emotional turmoil because our soul is distracted from its real focus. Our minds are divided because we are not thinking biblically.
And we said that if we get our mind and soul to be singular in its focus, then we will not have these problems any more. We will experience the peace that we said was contained in Isaiah 23: He keeps him in perfect peace who’s mind is stayed upon Jehovah.
That then led us then to talk about our second question. Our second question is “why should we not be worried?” Another way to look at it is like this: What things should we be keeping in mind so that we have a singular focus?
So the answer is doctrine. There are certain things we need to know and believe. When our hearts are fixed on these simple truths, then anxiety will not be a problem. We will not have these fits because we are zeroed in and stayed upon Jehovah.
Now that is probably a novel idea in our day and age. There is probably not one psychologist or psychiatrist out there who will tell you that the main antidote for combating anxiety is doctrine. I would even go so far as to say that if there was someone who did say that, they would be labeled a quack and probably would have their license revoked.
But as we come to the Scripture today we find that is exactly the remedy that Christ provides. He gives us doctrine. He lays forth several reasons why we ought not to worry. And he essentially says, “you need to take to heart these truths that I am setting out and when you do you will find the relief that you are seeking.”
II. Why should we not worry?
Now, when we met last we looked at the very first reason why we should not be worried. We said that we ought not to worry because of how important our existence really is.
A. Because of how important our existence really is [25]
And I pointed at verse 25, where it says, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.” We said that we should distinguish between our life and the food that supports our life. We should understand that our clothing is not as important as our bodies. We were created by God. We came into being as a direct result of his will. And since this is true, we have value. Our life has value. Our bodies have value. Our very existence is important to God. And if it has such significance, then we should understand that God will then supply all that is needed for the support of our lives.
So let us remember that. We live in a world which says our existence is an accident and not really all that important. But that is not biblical at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth. And once this is drilled into our minds, then we can begin to experience the peace we desire.
Now what I want to do today is lay out the 5 other reasons why we should not be worried. Having seen how important our existence is, we need to realize how particular God’s care is. Why should we not be worried? Because of how incredibly meticulous God is in his care for all of his creation, even the smallest and seemingly insignificant of creatures.
B. Because of how particular God’s care is [26]
Here I point your attention to verse 26. In verse 26 Jesus says, “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?”
Now, in the previous verse he argued from the greater to the lesser. Life is greater than food. So you know food is going to be supplied by God.
This is the exact opposite. It is an argument from the lesser to the greater. Birds, in the grand scheme of things, are not really all that important. They are certainly not as important as God’s children. And when you think about what God does for birds and making sure that they are well cared for, does it not logically follow that he will be even more concerned to take care of you.
And so Jesus wants you to take a moment and look out your window. He wants to to take notice how birds live. What is it about birds that you notice? Well, you can say what they do not do. Has anyone ever seen a bird driving a tractor? Did you ever see him plowing up some land and getting ready for the planting season?
Of course not. We live in modern times, right? Birds don’t grow their own food. They go to the grocery store, right? Whenever they need a fresh batch of worms and bugs, they go down to Save-A-Lot like the rest of us and they buy what they need. And of course, they always buy in bulk so that they can put some in the freezer and be sure to have some for the days to come.
That’s absolutely absurd, isn’t it? We all know that birds do not store up in barns and have freezer ready meals. They do not sow or reap either.
So the question becomes, “How do they survive?” The extraordinary thing about these little creatures is that they basically live day to day. The early bird gets the worm because he knows that he’s got to get out every single morning and find what will sustain him for that day.
And the glorious thing is, each and every day he has everything he needs. And that is because God is watching over him. God’s ensures that there’s going to be something for him to munch on every single day. This is saying that God takes care of every single aspect of this universe. So that even these little critters, which are relatively insignificant to the whole operation of the solar system, are still given particular care. Our God makes sure that he tends to every little detail of its life.
And now that you’ve thought about what God does for these little birds, which are so common and seemingly insignificant, what do you think He will do for you? After all, you are his child. Can it even be feasible that the Lord would somehow overlook you?
What you are to take from this is just how extensive and comprehensive God’s providence is. God is in control of every minute detail of this universe. His hand governs the whereabouts of every worm that is to be eaten. He is governing the exact positioning of the bugs that are going to be swooped up and crunched down by the little finches (or what have you).
So you should take a great deal of comfort in that. Are you someone who worries about your car or your retirement? Are you one who is prone to fret over whether or not you are going to make your financial goals?
To be sure, there is a good concern to have over being frugal and diligent to work. After all, birds do work. They are not partying and completely blowing off their daily duties. But if you are fearing that things will bottom out on you, then you need some good old fashioned ornithology (the study of birds).
God in his Providence is taking care of all the details of this world. And you, his child, are the most important of all those details. So why then should you worry? What is the greatest remedy against anxiety? It’s God’s providential care.
There is a third reason that Jesus gives is found in verse 27. Look at it with me. It says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Now what is Jesus saying here? Is he not pointing out how utterly foolish our anxiety is?
C. Because of how utterly foolish anxiety is [27]
We might say that this is a pragmatic approach to anxiety. Jesus is basically saying, “What does all your worrying and fretting really accomplish?” Do you think that you could possibly add an hour on to your life by getting yourself worked up and stewing on these problems for an extended period of time?
If anything, you are going to be taking time off the clock. You are probably reducing your lifespan by putting yourself through all this turmoil.
If you were here last time you may recall that I talked about some of the symptoms of anxiety. There’s the tension and the increased heart rate and the stomach problems and the muscle pain and the headaches. You got to ask yourself is that really accomplishing anything productive? Obviously, its more counter productive.
Here you are, getting ready for the big job interview. And you are stressing over it. What will they think of you? How will you preform or present yourself? What will they think of the outfit you picked out? Is this really the job God wants for you or that you want? The questions running through your mind may be an endless string of concerns.
Now, will all of that really add anything to how well your interview goes? Not at all. The only thing it can do is work against you. The person who interviews you is going to see that you really don’t do all that well under pressure.
But if you say to yourself, “this fretting is silly. I’m just going to go in and give a testimony to who I am and what skills God has given me; I’m merely going to let this be part of my service to God--then don’t you think that your interview will be much more productive?
You see how this goes beyond merely your financial situation. This is dealing with the fear of man, which is one area where people have a lot of anxiety. They worry about what other people will think or say or do. They are worried about how they will be perceived by others or if they will be accepted by a certain group.
And what is all that fear really accomplishing? Is it making them more attractive? Maybe it is making them work harder, but in the end they are just running themselves down trying to impress this audience.
Jesus wants you to see how this is just completely moronic. Is it not more profitable to simply have God as your audience. It would be better for you to say, “It really doesn’t matter what they think, or what I think they think. What really matters is that I live for God and stop putting myself through all this. I can’t make people like me. I can’t add an hour to my life. Only God is able to add the blessing. So I’m going to simply rest in him.
So there you have three reasons so far. You have to think about how important your existence is. You need to think about how particular God’s care is. You have to realize how foolish your anxiety is.
The fourth reason is found in verses 28f. In verses 28-30 Jesus talks about how incredibly thorough God’s provision is
D. Because of how incredibly thorough God’s provision is [28-30]
In verse 28 we read about the “lilies of the field” and we are again reminded of how abundant God’s provision is.
Earlier we talked about birds, but this time Jesus points to inanimate creatures. Birds flit here and there looking for their worms, but flowers are just stuck in one place. You might even make the argument that these flowers are less likely to have their goods because they can’t do much of anything. They are planted in one place and are not able to do much of anything. What’s more, these plants have an extremely short life span. As Jesus says, the grass is here today and tomorrow it is cut down and thrown into the fire to be burned.
Yet what is said about these flowers? Jesus says they have a beauty and splendor that surpasses that of Solomon, who, of course, was the richest and wisest man who ever lived.
A couple years ago I went on a trip to Israel with my daughter. We were traveling along the highway in our tour bus. One of our tour guides was a Jewish lady and she was standing at the front of the bus giving us an orientation to our schedule for that day. She was just doing her routine and providing us with an overview of our prospective stops on the tour. But she suddenly broke off and started gushing over some poppy like flowers that were growing on the berm of the road. We thought it was rather odd how enthusiastic she was. We all looked out of the window to catch a glimpse of this wonder of wonders that she spoke so highly of. And to us, it wasn’t all that big of a deal. Sure, they were red and lush and pretty, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. We’ve probably seen as much in our back yards. She babbled on and on about it saying that this was such an rare occurrence in Israel to see something like this. And she said that those flowers would probably would not last to the end of the week.
There you have a little insight. The beauty was so overwhelming, yet the life span was so very fleeting.
That’s the kind of thing that Jesus is speaking of here. And what is his point? Are you, with your immortality and special relation to the Lord as His child, not worth more to God than this vegetation? And if God is making sure that these plants have this kind of care, should you not then believe that God will see to it that you are well provided for?
I say this with the full realization that we are currently seeing the cost of goods and services increase at a rather alarming rate in our country. In January the annual inflation rate accelerated to 7.5%, which is the highest since 1982. And it was well above what they projected. The experts had anticipated and inflation rate of 7.3% and it was 7.5%. In other words, analysts knew it was going to be bad, but they didn’t expect it to be that bad.
What’s that doing? It is eating into your purchasing power. Your dollars are not able to go as far. The raise you got this year is being gobbled up by the rise in prices in your fuel, your healthcare, your utilities, your groceries, and such. And you look at your budget and you can’t help but feel the squeeze.
Well, when you feel that tension coming on, just go out and lay in the grass. Take a few moments to gaze at your crocuses that are starting to poke out. And remember that God has brought those little saplings through yet another harsh winter. He has caused them to be clothed in the radiant colors; the purple, yellow, and white.
And as you look at them you must remember that this inanimate, transient object has nothing on you. Just as God has thoroughly and ornately provided for these flowers, so will he will fully provide for you.
Conclusion
Well, there are several more reasons still to consider. We’ll have to come back to those next time. But here you see what we’ve already stated. Anxiety increases as a result of letting your heart and mind become divided. But the more your soul becomes anchored in the truth of God--the more it is stayed upon Jehovah, the less reason you have to be anxious.
And so I hope you are beginning to see that there is salvation in no one else. Not only is there hope of deliverance for anxiety, but we recognize that the only place in which to find it is in he who is the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we are going to continue examining this subject. We are actually going to get into some of the remedies for anxiety. And when you hear that I say “remedies” you should know that yes, there is a way to solve the issue. The problem of anxiety is something from which you can experience deliverance. That’s what Christian sanctification is all about.
Sanctification is the process by which we become more and more holy as a Christian. We are delivered from the consequences of sin when we first come to the Lord. He saves us from sin’s curse. That’s part of what we call our justification. But as we progress through the Christian life the Lord continues to save us from the presence and power of sin. We find ourselves growing in holiness and experiencing more of the blessings of Christ’s saving grace.
So, as we come to the issue of anxiety, this should give you some good hope if you are one who does struggle with it. If you zero in on this area of your life and seek to bring God’s Word and power to bear on it in a very intentional way, you can find that God can deliver you from it.
And much of what you need is found here in our text today. Our Lord Jesus is laying out for you the precious remedies you need to gain the quietness that He alone can afford.
With that said, please follow along as I read Matthew 6:25-34.
“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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Introduction
Well, we are in our second message of this series on anxiety. You may remember that we came to this section because we had been looking at the issue of money. If every there was a reason why people get anxious, it is over their finances. So Jesus deals with that topic in a very express way.
And the great thing about this passage is that it can be extended to many other areas having to deal with anxiety. So, even if your problem isn’t specifically financial anxiety, there’s still much you can learn from this passage.
But, before we dive into the passage, it would be good for us to begin with a little review. Last time we were together I said we are going to be addressing three basic questions over the course of this series. First, there is the question of orientation: what is anxiety. Then, secondly, we want to ask why it is we should not be worried. Then, thirdly, how can we prevent anxiety?
We began last time with the simple question, “What is anxiety?”
I. What is anxiety? How should we understand it?
And we said that the Bible sets forth a different understanding than much of the world around us. Today it is thought of in medical terms. It is supposedly a mental or medical condition. It is often thought of as a disorder of the brain. But we said that those definitions come from a materialistic worldview. They arrive at those understandings because the so called experts believe man to be merely a physical creature, who does not have a soul.
The Scriptural understanding is that anxiety is a spiritual issue. The Biblical view of man is that we are composed of a body and a soul. And anxiety or worry, while it may have some physical symptoms, it is ultimately a problem of sin. Specifically, it occurs when our minds are not “stayed upon Jehovah.”
And we said that the word for anxiety or worry comes from a word that means “to be distracted” or “to be divided.” And we said we experience this emotional turmoil because our soul is distracted from its real focus. Our minds are divided because we are not thinking biblically.
And we said that if we get our mind and soul to be singular in its focus, then we will not have these problems any more. We will experience the peace that we said was contained in Isaiah 23: He keeps him in perfect peace who’s mind is stayed upon Jehovah.
That then led us then to talk about our second question. Our second question is “why should we not be worried?” Another way to look at it is like this: What things should we be keeping in mind so that we have a singular focus?
So the answer is doctrine. There are certain things we need to know and believe. When our hearts are fixed on these simple truths, then anxiety will not be a problem. We will not have these fits because we are zeroed in and stayed upon Jehovah.
Now that is probably a novel idea in our day and age. There is probably not one psychologist or psychiatrist out there who will tell you that the main antidote for combating anxiety is doctrine. I would even go so far as to say that if there was someone who did say that, they would be labeled a quack and probably would have their license revoked.
But as we come to the Scripture today we find that is exactly the remedy that Christ provides. He gives us doctrine. He lays forth several reasons why we ought not to worry. And he essentially says, “you need to take to heart these truths that I am setting out and when you do you will find the relief that you are seeking.”
II. Why should we not worry?
Now, when we met last we looked at the very first reason why we should not be worried. We said that we ought not to worry because of how important our existence really is.
A. Because of how important our existence really is [25]
And I pointed at verse 25, where it says, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.” We said that we should distinguish between our life and the food that supports our life. We should understand that our clothing is not as important as our bodies. We were created by God. We came into being as a direct result of his will. And since this is true, we have value. Our life has value. Our bodies have value. Our very existence is important to God. And if it has such significance, then we should understand that God will then supply all that is needed for the support of our lives.
So let us remember that. We live in a world which says our existence is an accident and not really all that important. But that is not biblical at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth. And once this is drilled into our minds, then we can begin to experience the peace we desire.
Now what I want to do today is lay out the 5 other reasons why we should not be worried. Having seen how important our existence is, we need to realize how particular God’s care is. Why should we not be worried? Because of how incredibly meticulous God is in his care for all of his creation, even the smallest and seemingly insignificant of creatures.
B. Because of how particular God’s care is [26]
Here I point your attention to verse 26. In verse 26 Jesus says, “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?”
Now, in the previous verse he argued from the greater to the lesser. Life is greater than food. So you know food is going to be supplied by God.
This is the exact opposite. It is an argument from the lesser to the greater. Birds, in the grand scheme of things, are not really all that important. They are certainly not as important as God’s children. And when you think about what God does for birds and making sure that they are well cared for, does it not logically follow that he will be even more concerned to take care of you.
And so Jesus wants you to take a moment and look out your window. He wants to to take notice how birds live. What is it about birds that you notice? Well, you can say what they do not do. Has anyone ever seen a bird driving a tractor? Did you ever see him plowing up some land and getting ready for the planting season?
Of course not. We live in modern times, right? Birds don’t grow their own food. They go to the grocery store, right? Whenever they need a fresh batch of worms and bugs, they go down to Save-A-Lot like the rest of us and they buy what they need. And of course, they always buy in bulk so that they can put some in the freezer and be sure to have some for the days to come.
That’s absolutely absurd, isn’t it? We all know that birds do not store up in barns and have freezer ready meals. They do not sow or reap either.
So the question becomes, “How do they survive?” The extraordinary thing about these little creatures is that they basically live day to day. The early bird gets the worm because he knows that he’s got to get out every single morning and find what will sustain him for that day.
And the glorious thing is, each and every day he has everything he needs. And that is because God is watching over him. God’s ensures that there’s going to be something for him to munch on every single day. This is saying that God takes care of every single aspect of this universe. So that even these little critters, which are relatively insignificant to the whole operation of the solar system, are still given particular care. Our God makes sure that he tends to every little detail of its life.
And now that you’ve thought about what God does for these little birds, which are so common and seemingly insignificant, what do you think He will do for you? After all, you are his child. Can it even be feasible that the Lord would somehow overlook you?
What you are to take from this is just how extensive and comprehensive God’s providence is. God is in control of every minute detail of this universe. His hand governs the whereabouts of every worm that is to be eaten. He is governing the exact positioning of the bugs that are going to be swooped up and crunched down by the little finches (or what have you).
So you should take a great deal of comfort in that. Are you someone who worries about your car or your retirement? Are you one who is prone to fret over whether or not you are going to make your financial goals?
To be sure, there is a good concern to have over being frugal and diligent to work. After all, birds do work. They are not partying and completely blowing off their daily duties. But if you are fearing that things will bottom out on you, then you need some good old fashioned ornithology (the study of birds).
God in his Providence is taking care of all the details of this world. And you, his child, are the most important of all those details. So why then should you worry? What is the greatest remedy against anxiety? It’s God’s providential care.
There is a third reason that Jesus gives is found in verse 27. Look at it with me. It says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Now what is Jesus saying here? Is he not pointing out how utterly foolish our anxiety is?
C. Because of how utterly foolish anxiety is [27]
We might say that this is a pragmatic approach to anxiety. Jesus is basically saying, “What does all your worrying and fretting really accomplish?” Do you think that you could possibly add an hour on to your life by getting yourself worked up and stewing on these problems for an extended period of time?
If anything, you are going to be taking time off the clock. You are probably reducing your lifespan by putting yourself through all this turmoil.
If you were here last time you may recall that I talked about some of the symptoms of anxiety. There’s the tension and the increased heart rate and the stomach problems and the muscle pain and the headaches. You got to ask yourself is that really accomplishing anything productive? Obviously, its more counter productive.
Here you are, getting ready for the big job interview. And you are stressing over it. What will they think of you? How will you preform or present yourself? What will they think of the outfit you picked out? Is this really the job God wants for you or that you want? The questions running through your mind may be an endless string of concerns.
Now, will all of that really add anything to how well your interview goes? Not at all. The only thing it can do is work against you. The person who interviews you is going to see that you really don’t do all that well under pressure.
But if you say to yourself, “this fretting is silly. I’m just going to go in and give a testimony to who I am and what skills God has given me; I’m merely going to let this be part of my service to God--then don’t you think that your interview will be much more productive?
You see how this goes beyond merely your financial situation. This is dealing with the fear of man, which is one area where people have a lot of anxiety. They worry about what other people will think or say or do. They are worried about how they will be perceived by others or if they will be accepted by a certain group.
And what is all that fear really accomplishing? Is it making them more attractive? Maybe it is making them work harder, but in the end they are just running themselves down trying to impress this audience.
Jesus wants you to see how this is just completely moronic. Is it not more profitable to simply have God as your audience. It would be better for you to say, “It really doesn’t matter what they think, or what I think they think. What really matters is that I live for God and stop putting myself through all this. I can’t make people like me. I can’t add an hour to my life. Only God is able to add the blessing. So I’m going to simply rest in him.
So there you have three reasons so far. You have to think about how important your existence is. You need to think about how particular God’s care is. You have to realize how foolish your anxiety is.
The fourth reason is found in verses 28f. In verses 28-30 Jesus talks about how incredibly thorough God’s provision is
D. Because of how incredibly thorough God’s provision is [28-30]
In verse 28 we read about the “lilies of the field” and we are again reminded of how abundant God’s provision is.
Earlier we talked about birds, but this time Jesus points to inanimate creatures. Birds flit here and there looking for their worms, but flowers are just stuck in one place. You might even make the argument that these flowers are less likely to have their goods because they can’t do much of anything. They are planted in one place and are not able to do much of anything. What’s more, these plants have an extremely short life span. As Jesus says, the grass is here today and tomorrow it is cut down and thrown into the fire to be burned.
Yet what is said about these flowers? Jesus says they have a beauty and splendor that surpasses that of Solomon, who, of course, was the richest and wisest man who ever lived.
A couple years ago I went on a trip to Israel with my daughter. We were traveling along the highway in our tour bus. One of our tour guides was a Jewish lady and she was standing at the front of the bus giving us an orientation to our schedule for that day. She was just doing her routine and providing us with an overview of our prospective stops on the tour. But she suddenly broke off and started gushing over some poppy like flowers that were growing on the berm of the road. We thought it was rather odd how enthusiastic she was. We all looked out of the window to catch a glimpse of this wonder of wonders that she spoke so highly of. And to us, it wasn’t all that big of a deal. Sure, they were red and lush and pretty, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. We’ve probably seen as much in our back yards. She babbled on and on about it saying that this was such an rare occurrence in Israel to see something like this. And she said that those flowers would probably would not last to the end of the week.
There you have a little insight. The beauty was so overwhelming, yet the life span was so very fleeting.
That’s the kind of thing that Jesus is speaking of here. And what is his point? Are you, with your immortality and special relation to the Lord as His child, not worth more to God than this vegetation? And if God is making sure that these plants have this kind of care, should you not then believe that God will see to it that you are well provided for?
I say this with the full realization that we are currently seeing the cost of goods and services increase at a rather alarming rate in our country. In January the annual inflation rate accelerated to 7.5%, which is the highest since 1982. And it was well above what they projected. The experts had anticipated and inflation rate of 7.3% and it was 7.5%. In other words, analysts knew it was going to be bad, but they didn’t expect it to be that bad.
What’s that doing? It is eating into your purchasing power. Your dollars are not able to go as far. The raise you got this year is being gobbled up by the rise in prices in your fuel, your healthcare, your utilities, your groceries, and such. And you look at your budget and you can’t help but feel the squeeze.
Well, when you feel that tension coming on, just go out and lay in the grass. Take a few moments to gaze at your crocuses that are starting to poke out. And remember that God has brought those little saplings through yet another harsh winter. He has caused them to be clothed in the radiant colors; the purple, yellow, and white.
And as you look at them you must remember that this inanimate, transient object has nothing on you. Just as God has thoroughly and ornately provided for these flowers, so will he will fully provide for you.
Conclusion
Well, there are several more reasons still to consider. We’ll have to come back to those next time. But here you see what we’ve already stated. Anxiety increases as a result of letting your heart and mind become divided. But the more your soul becomes anchored in the truth of God--the more it is stayed upon Jehovah, the less reason you have to be anxious.
And so I hope you are beginning to see that there is salvation in no one else. Not only is there hope of deliverance for anxiety, but we recognize that the only place in which to find it is in he who is the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ.