My dear friends, which of us do not ever worry? The possibility is that you have mastered the art of not worrying but for most of us here, this is a very relevant subject. Jesus clearly says that we should not worry about our lives and what we should eat, drink or put on our body. So what do we do instead? Jesus wants us to recognize something that is right in front of us. Life is not made up of “things” of this world. He gives these great examples of the birds of the air and how God takes care of them and then He says, “Are we not more important to our God than the birds?” Henry Blackaby says in his devotion for June 22 about “Don’t Worry” that these birds Jesus speaks of are ravens. The Jews declared the ravens unclean and by using them in the illustration Jesus is saying that if God cares for the least of these then surely He cares and will provide for His people for whom He sent His Son to die.
Jesus declares, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” What good is worry to you, it can’t add time to your life! In fact, according to some experts worry takes a toll on our life to such an extent that many people who worry have more problems, physically and mentally, which takes away the value of life day after day. Jesus goes on and tells us of how God clothes the flowers of the field in beautiful array, even more glorious than King Solomon’s robes. Because of all we see God doing in this world, why should we not trust the Lord to do more for us rather than worry about how we are to be clothed, we must be people of little faith! You see when we worry we are saying to God that we don’t have enough faith in Him to take care of us. We say He is not able or that He does not care for us at all. Blackaby again says, “Worry comes so easily, yet it changes nothing about our circumstances.”
Jesus makes the statement, don’t worry! Why worry about what you will eat, what you will drink or what you will wear? If you do, then you are doing what the pagans do; they go around seeking all these things and not trusting the God that made them. All the while your heavenly Father who knows all about you, knows what you have need of and will provide it for you, in His time. Or, He may use this circumstance in your life to help you grow as a believer and cause you to wait on Him. The world, the pagans who are those who care nothing about the Lord God of the Bible, stress and strain over all that comes their way, worrying about every little thing in their life. Jesus says we are not to be like them. With faith in God, Christians can defeat the devil’s helper of worry and we will be able to walk in faith with the Lord trusting in Him to provide what He knows we need, not everything we “want” but what is needed in this life.
Remember David said in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Adam Clarke says of the phrase, “I shall not want,” “He has all that they need, and his heart is full of love to mankind; and therefore he will withhold from them no manner of thing that is good.” This is the concept of “God will provide.” His loyalty and care for those who are His is well documented in the Word of God. In looking at Genesis 22:1-18, we see this event in Abraham’s life where God calls on him to sacrifice his only son by Sarah. He does what God asked him to do “by faith,” which the book Hebrews also tells us this story found in 11:17-19. After Abraham was stopped by God from killing Isaac and God gave a ram for the sacrifice instead, Abraham went on to name that place “The Lord Will Provide.” When you trust in Him, rather than worry, He will provide for that need. Paul speaks of the Christian who can trust in God for all their needs,