Embracing Uncertainty

It goes with this passage. It
even says at the very top of that hymn, it cites Philippians
4.6. Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present
your request to God. What a great hymn. And I say,
my positive brother, because he really looked at this passage
and thought, surely, Surely he’ll end up talking about prayer.
And I say positive because for most purposes, he would be
accurate, except for these four little words that start out this
passage. Be anxious for nothing. And I never made it past those
four little words. And neither will you this morning. A very appropriate hymn, and
I delight to sing it. Maybe we’ll sing it again next
week. One has said, suggested that
worry is the national pastime of Americans. But it isn’t even
just an American disease, is it? Worry is indigenous to the
human condition. We are prone to worry. One warned
by way of a famous quote. He said that worry is a thin
stream of fear trickling through the mind. A thin stream of fear
trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel
into which all other thoughts are drained. Fascinating image,
isn’t it? The point that he’s making is
that what begins as just a fleeting and worrisome thought, if mulled
upon and dwelt upon, becomes an obsession and one that we
cannot easily extract ourselves from. called worry the rust of
life, which destroys the brightness and weakens its power. Such is
the case of worry. In thinking about this whole
subject this week, I was reminded of a cartoon that I saw one time.
It featured, of course, a woman freshly arriving at the gates
of heaven approaching the angel who is behind the desk, and she
simply asks, since you have a full and complete record of my life,
could you tell me if I remember to turn the stove off? That is
the case with all of us. We are prone to worry. And even
in the best case, we are given to it. We struggle with it in
almost every arena of our life, don’t we? Paul addresses worry
in this passage. He addresses the remedy as well,
which we’ll get to in days to come. But the first things first. If you would, I want to go to
Philippians chapter four and let’s look at these two verses
in their entirety. And then the next couple of weeks,
we’ll take them a piece at a time. Philippians chapter four, beginning
in verse six, where Paul wrote to the Philippians, be anxious
for nothing. But in everything, by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known
to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses
all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.” The passage and places for notes are there in
your bullets, and if you so choose, But we’re not going to make it
very far today. As I began to think of this subject
of worry, I began to think of all of the areas of my own life,
all of those of friends, family that have expressed to me that
things about which they worry. I began to run out of pencil
lead. We worry about yesterday. We
worry about our past. We worry about the failures in
our life. We worry about tomorrow. We worry
about the uncertainty of tomorrow. And that’s what grips us, doesn’t
it? We worry about money. We worry about bills and debts,
our ability to pay and our 401k. We worry about time and our management
of it. We worry about war. and the impending
rumors of war. We worry about the economy. We
worry about politics and all that that affects in our life. We worry about our sports teams. Goodness knows they need help.
We worry about our grades. We worry about the swine flu.
We worry about driving. Ours and others. We worry about our children.
We worry about their friends, the friends that they pick. We
worry about the decisions they make. We worry about their futures.
We worry for our spouses as they travel. We worry about their
faithfulness. We worry about our parents. We
worry about their standing in Christ. We worry about our friends. We worry about the faithfulness
of our friends to us. and of their fickleness in life.
We worry about what we see and we worry about what we don’t
see. We worry about how we’re perceived and we worry about
whether we will be received by others. We do worry about other
people. We worry about what they think.
We worry about what they do. We worry about what they say.
We worry about the weather, tornadoes, snow, hail. We worry about the
world as if God has gone to bed. We worry about our environment
that maybe Al Gore might be right. We worry about our enemies. We
worry about our futures. We worry about the mail and whether
it will make it on time. We worry about our pets. We worry
about trends. We worry about societal decline. We worry about our teens and
their morals. We worry about our own weaknesses
and struggles. We worry about our minds. That
they are slowly going by the day, we worry about crime because
we worry about our stuff. We worry about society and the
direction it’s headed, we worry in the dark. We worry in the
light because we worry during the day and we worry even at
night. We worry in our hearts. We worry
in our minds. We worry by our lips. We worry
with our wallets. We worry about our duties. We
worry because we’re so woefully inadequate in seeing them through.
We worry about the promises that we’ve made. to others and to
God. We worry about our obligations.
We worry about our influence, if we have any at all. Because
of that, we worry about our legacy, our heritage. We worry in doing
so by our plotting, by our obsession. We worry even in manipulative
tactics. We worry by thinking way too
much. We worry about our health. We worry about illnesses. We
worry about the doctor and how to pay him. And even though we’re
cared for and God’s promises cover us, we worry to the point
of stress, grinding of the teeth, ulcers, high blood pressure and
all the rest. We worry. Is it any wonder that
Paul addresses it? Is it any wonder that Paul would
turn his attention to the Philippians in the midst of an ungodly culture,
a fledgling church, in a society that was hell-bent on doing them
in? Is it any worry? Is it any worry
that in our own culture, these words still ring true? There
was a study that was recently done that said two-thirds of
Americans Sixty six percent say that they are likely to seek
help for stress. Sixty six percent. That’s most
of us in this room. Fifty four percent of Americans
are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives,
which means that what about 14 percent are just ignoring it.
62% of Americans say work has a significant impact on stress
levels. That should come as no surprise.
Health problems are often brought on by stress at work, the job
insecurity, the heavy workloads, the bosses that we have to deal
with. But 73% of Americans said that money was the number one
factor. that affected the stress levels in their lives. Is it
any wonder that Paul addresses these words? Is it any wonder
that I didn’t make it past these four words? Be anxious for nothing? Let’s pause for a minute. Depending on what translation
you’re reading, you might even have had cause to pause yourself
Because over the history of the English translation, there have
been some serious translational difficulties just surrounding
these four little words. Be anxious for nothing. The King
James started off by saying, be careful for nothing. Which is more than a little bit
ambiguous and somewhat misleading. Another form of that same translation
is take no thought. for anything, which is also misleading. As one pastor said, literally
understood, the words appear to enjoin what is impracticable. Be careful for nothing. Care
about nothing. Live a careless, carefree life. Don’t worry about anybody. Don’t
care about anything. Is that what the apostle is saying
here? The words appear to enjoin what
is impracticable, and even if it were practicable, would be
a breach of Christian duty. For the purpose of Christianity
is the very opposite of making men thoughtless or care less. Scripture distinctly enjoins
that we provide for our own. This involves much thought and
care. Scripture, properly understood,
gives much encouragement. to diligence and discretion in
every part of our life. Well, if that’s the case, then
what on earth is Paul saying? Are we supposed to care or are
we not supposed to care? It doesn’t help that Paul rarely
uses this word, only one other place, a rarely used word for
Paul. So you can’t go scouting about
in Paul’s epistles for other uses and see perhaps how Paul
used this word. The root meaning of the word,
the original meaning, meant to be concerned, and ultimately
it spoke of divisions in the anxious mind. One described it simply by being
full of cares which divide and distract the mind. As he goes
on, he says, this implies a distraction of mind. Let there be no half
and half distraction of your mind between two things, between
this and the other. Between anxiety for a worldly
good and a thought about God, Anxiety
for worldly goods shall prevent your complete trust in God. Your
anxiety is just so much belief that wealth is safer than God
and money is a better master than Christ.” Interesting thought. This word originally meant to
consider and to care, but ultimately it comes to take on the meaning
of to be anxious, to ponder, to brood over. to mull over something
to the point of obsession. As I said, the verb indicates
distraction of mind, where you’re not able to fully focus on one
thing because of another. And so it’s really ultimately
anxiousness of heart and mind that makes the heart and makes
the life unproductive. That’s what’s in focus. It isn’t
merely wise forethought about the future. God isn’t against
our planning. God isn’t against all thought
in that regard. As J.C. Ryle put it, do not be
over careful. Do not be over anxious. Prudent
provision for the future is right. But wearying, corrosive, self-tormenting
anxiety is sinful. As I said, at its core, this
word just implied an intense thought for others, a care for
them. And it can be a positive thing.
It’s used in Scripture in a positive sense. Flip, if you would, to
First Corinthians. First Corinthians, chapter seven. I think I’ve told you about this
verse before when I was a single man trying to get married, desiring
to get married, should have been married, but I had this mentality
that my wife, by golly, wasn’t going to be a ball and chain
to me. We were going to work for the Lord, serve God in His
kingdom. There’s nothing wrong with that,
but this was my justification, these few verses. 1 Corinthians 7.32, I want you
to be free from concern. One who is unmarried and concerned
about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. If I wasn’t going to remain unmarried,
it was going to be as if I was unmarried. But one who is married
is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please
his wife. And I certainly couldn’t do that.
And his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried and
the virgin. And so, he goes on to talk about this whole thing
about where your thought, where your mind is. Somebody finally
straightened me out. Over in 2 Corinthians, you don’t
have time to turn there. But Paul talked there about the
daily pressures that were on him because of his concern, his
deep, abiding concern, a good thing for the churches. Flip
back, if you would, to Philippians. As I said, it just talks about
care and concern for the others. Care for your wife. Care for
the churches. To give your thought to another
to promote their interests. That’s how one described it,
as I said, the word is used in a positive sense elsewhere, it’s
used in a positive sense, even in Philippians. Look at Philippians,
chapter one, chapter two, rather, verse 19. Speaking of the Philippians and
their needs, caring for them, Paul said, I hope in the Lord,
Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly so that I may be
encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one
else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned. Same word. For your welfare,
I want somebody who is anxious about you in a good way. And
so it can be used in a very positive way. One said of the use of that
word, the quality of Timothy’s care for the Philippians was
exactly what made Paul want to send Timothy to them. It was
like minded care. It was just like Paul’s. So these passages illustrate
for us that this word sometimes expresses a totally natural and
appropriate care, a feeling of intense concern for others that
is ultimately directed toward them on their behalf and for
their good. Unfortunately, the feeling becomes
wrong and misplaced, misdirected, if you will, When it exceeds its bounds, when
it jumps the boundaries and runs wild and ultimately, as one said,
eats like acid into the soul. That’s when it becomes a negative.
It is a concern that overwhelms into worry and anxiety. That’s
what Paul is talking about here in chapter four, verse six. unbounded
concern, out-of-control concern. The concern here is a failure
to pass burdens on to the Lord. But before we even get to the
cure, we’ve got to look at the disease. Caring for others is
a virtue. Caring for our own responsibilities
is a virtue. But too much focus on that care
degenerates into sin and sinfulness. Anxiety ultimately is a distrust
of God and His management of life and our lives particularly. It is a trusting of oneself and
ultimately it leads to suffering and fear and worry. As one said, it is an outgrowth
of that spirit which always looks solicitously forward and forgets
today’s blessings and duties in anxieties about tomorrow’s
claims. So there is a right and a wrong
anxiety, just as there is a right and a wrong attention to our
interests. Jesus uttered very similar words,
which we’ll consider in a moment. Jesus was concerned about our
level of anxiety. Jesus was concerned about our
level of care of our own lives and things. He addressed it in
chapter 6, verse 25. He addressed it in chapter 13,
verse 22. Do you remember the parable of
the seeds? There were seeds that fell in
various places and one set of seeds fell among the thorns.
Do you remember the thorns? Jesus explained it, said, the
one on whom seed was sown among the thorns. This is the man who
hears the word and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness
of wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. Jesus
was very concerned at our stress level. Jesus was very concerned
about our anxiousness. Jesus was very concerned that
we not worry. What he refers to here is as
one Puritan described it, that anxiety that is fitted to draw
the mind away from God, distracting the Christian soul, making the
earthly doubts and fears effectually oppose the heavenward longings,
and rendering the believer for the time almost a double-minded
man. We say one thing. We say that
we have faith in God. We say that we believe. We claim
to trust. But in reality, we’re living
a quite different life. Such was the case when Jesus
dealt with Martha. Remember Martha? She wanted help
in the kitchen. And Jesus’ rebuke of her was
simple. Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered. about so many things.” What an
accurate statement about humanity, isn’t it? What an accurate statement
about you and I. We are to take no anxious thought. We are to not take those into
our hearts and mull them over and dwell upon them. One pastor
warned that such worry essentially amounts to greed. Greed. We have what we need. Any worry
about what we don’t already possess amounts essentially to greed.
He said it this way. Avarice, greed, is the most exacting
of all vices. It is never off its guard and
never relaxes its hold. Sites which make even the hardened
sinner compassionate for a brief space, make the miser draw his
purse strings the tighter. The claims not only of relations
and friends and country, but even of honor and comfort and
health are disregarded when money is at stake. And that’s why I
suggested a moment ago that our worry often bears itself out
in how we exercise our wallet. What do the Christians appeal
to do here? Essentially, we’re appealed to
here to never forget the fact that the Lord has us in His eye,
that He is watchful, and that the Spirit is always ready to
meet our every need. This anxiety that we guard against
is a state of mind. It’s an attitude of heart. It is born out of, as we talked
about even just moments ago, pride, a desire to know more
than what we’re able to know or to acquire what is seemingly
beyond our reach, to make a provision as if we could have a plastic
card that covered every possible contingency in our life. That’s
what we’d like, isn’t it? In reading this week, I discovered
that Americans spend millions in so-called fortune telling.
And when you go there, they don’t just tell you about fortunes.
They tell you about potential calamities, too. And that’s OK.
We just want to know about it. Just tell me about it. We can’t cover every contingency.
We can’t be aware of every calamity that’s coming our way. We don’t
know of every blessing. We can’t know. And so it is, as one said, unreasonable
anxiety, especially about the things we cannot control. Not
reasonable control, pardon me, not reasonable care about those
things we can influence. Peter addresses it as well, this
anxiousness. Peter says it in chapter 5, verse
7 of his first epistle, that we are to cast all of our anxieties
on him. Peter acknowledges that anxieties
are real. He tells us what to do with them.
One pastor said of this verse, care, even when exercised upon
objects, it carried to excess is in essence sin. Anything which is a transgression
of God’s command is sin, and he tells us right here, if nowhere
else. Besides, the very essence of
anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God. Isn’t
that the problem? It’s a fascinating thought. God’s
good enough to save us. We appreciate the price that
Jesus paid on the cross, but let me manage my 401k. Let me manage my bank account. It is the thinking that we are
wiser than God and the thrusting of ourselves into his place to
do for him that which we dream he either cannot or will not
do. We fear that he may forget or we may struggle to take upon
ourselves those burdens which he is either not able or is not
willing to carry. Those anxious cares very frequently
lead to other sins, just like the businessman who is not able
to leave his business with God, but is so tempted to indulge
in the tricks of the trade. He may be prevailed upon to put
out an unholy hand with which to help himself,” said Charles
Spurgeon. We put ourselves in the spot
of God because we distrust Him. Fascinating thought. What is spoken of here isn’t
just care. It isn’t just loving care. care
for others, care even for our own responsibilities. It is,
as one said, anxious, fretful, worried and harried condition. Where believers are inherently
unstable and vulnerable to trials and temptations. As one Puritan said it, all of
us, brethren, know by experience the power of worldly anxieties
of one kind or another to weaken our religious energies, to diminish
our spiritual joy. We go to pray and when our thoughts
and desires should ascend to God, these anxieties call them
down and they drag them another way. We go to hear the Word of
God and these anxieties Like the birds of the air. Pardon me, like the birds of
the air in the parable, pick up the good seed almost before
it reaches the ground. They haunt us in the closet,
in the pew, at the communion table. They keep us from truly
approaching God at all. Or if we enter into his presence,
it is with the loins of our mind badly girdled. With the garments
of our spirits dragging loosely and sweeping after us the dust
of the earth. We do not know and we do not
embrace God and His fullness as we should, because worry has
stilted and interrupted our relationship with Him. Now, this verse before us, verse
6, particularly the first part of the verse, the verse that
we’re not going to make it past today, the sentence just simply
urges, be anxious for nothing. And that verse, as you can probably
already hear, is an allusion by Paul to a much more complete
treatment of the subject by the Lord Himself. Jesus gave a much
more detailed version of this same command about anxiety. Now,
the question may be fairly asked, did Paul know about Jesus? Did he have it in front of him?
Possibly the Gospels were at this point still likely being
written, but accounts of Christ’s life were no doubt abundant. Portions of the gospel were recited
from rote memory. But further beyond that, Paul
knew the mind of Christ. Paul knew inherently as a Christian,
as one who knew the God of the universe, that anxiety and worry
was inherently a mark of a lack of faith. Paul knew the mind of Christ
was that of faith. Paul knew that the mind of Christ
was that of trust, not worry, of peace, not anxiety. And with
Paul’s brief allusion here, he assuredly calls to mind this
great section of anxiousness and faith. A section that was
taught by the Lord himself. We find its fullest treatment
in Matthew’s gospel, and so I’d like you to turn there to Matthew
chapter six. And in turning to Matthew 6,
briefly this morning, in introducing these few verses, one pastor
appropriately said, the Lord Jesus Christ knows that we are
always ready to turn off warnings against worldliness. We want
to redefine it and think that it is something that others struggle
with besides us. We want to turn off warnings
about worldliness by the argument that we cannot help being anxious
about the things of this life. It’s just part of our life and
livelihood. But he goes on to say that half of our miseries
are caused by fancying or dreaming about things that we think are
coming upon us, and the other half are things that we expect
to come upon us that never come upon us at all. We worry way
too much. about nothing. Now, the passage
is full, and I will read it in its fullness today. We’re only
going to deal with a portion of it. I want to start in v. 19 because Jesus is talking about
all of these things, but He dials in on anxiousness here in v. 25. Start in v. 19 where Jesus
said, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth. where moth
and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys,
where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also. The lamp of the body is
the eye. If therefore your eye is clear,
your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is
bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. No
one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and Mammon. For this reason, I say to you,
do not be worried about your life. As to what you will eat,
or what you will drink, nor for your body, as to what you will
put on, is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? Look at the birds of the air,
that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than
they? And who of you, by being worried,
can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried
about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the
field grow. They do not toil, nor do they
spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory
clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass
of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown
into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? you of
little faith. Do not worry then, saying, what
shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what will we wear for
clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek
all these things. For your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things, but seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own. If you note from this
passage, there are basically two general categories. Of matters
about which we are warned not to be anxious to general categories. One is being anxious about our
life that is in here and now and being anxious about the future. Jesus graciously goes on to provide
several reasons for living an anxiety free life. In the section that I would call,
where I would reference, do not be anxious about your life in
the here and now, just a general warning. We are warned. And we are given a good, solid
reason on why anxiousness is not the way of the Christian.
Physical things, that is food and clothing, are not the important
elements of life. Do not be anxious for your life
as to what you shall eat or drink. Is not life more than food and
the body, more than clothing? The irony is here, and a fascinating
one, we can literally worry ourselves to death, can’t we? Stress, anxiety,
thought, heart attack, ultimately. But we can’t worry ourselves
to life. I love doctors who give a cure
that is often as bad as the disease. I’ll never forget finals week
of my senior year of college, you know, there at CU where the
great minds reside, who decide to give flu shots to students
at the beginning of finals week. And I ended up in bed with a
fever. And they say, yes, flu-like symptoms are a part of these
shots. Terrific. They walk in. give you the bad
news and then tell you not to stress about it. We can worry ourselves to death. But the scriptures calm our hearts,
don’t they? Psalm 39, for Lord, make me to
know my end. It shouldn’t surprise us. It’s
coming. Make me to know my end and what
is the extent of my days. Let me know how transient I am. Behold, you have made my days
as hand breaths and my lifetime is nothing in your sight. Surely
every man is at best a mere breath. All the worry in the world doesn’t
produce a thing, it doesn’t help. Sometimes you’ll hear about a
person who’s gravely injured, critically injured, laying in
the hospital. They claim that he’s fighting
for his life. And if he lives, it’s because
he’s a fighter. As if we can will ourselves off of the hospital
bed. Jesus goes on to issue forth
a series of illustrations here. There’s the illustration about
sustenance. that just as God provides soulless
creatures with their basic needs, he will do likewise for his children. He says, look at the birds of
the air. I think it’s in Mark or Luke’s gospel, he uses ravens,
you know, just basically the rats of the bird world, right?
The ravens didn’t plant a farm. They didn’t cultivate a garden. And yet God provides even for
them. Mentioned in Scripture repeatedly
as an object of God’s care, Psalm 147, 9, he gives to the beast
its food and to the young ravens which cry. God feeds them. Whether
it’s through bird feeders or worms or crumbs or whatever the
case may be, it is all part of the providence of God. Job 38,
who prepares for the raven its nourishment. Psalm 145, the eyes
of all look to you. You give them their food in due
time. God feeds everybody. Will He
not feed us? You know what’s interesting?
Go back and look and reread Genesis 1. God made food before He even
made mankind. Fascinating. There’s the illustration
about life. and the nature of fretting that
worry is a completely worthless exercise. As I said, look at
verse twenty seven. Which of you and it’s almost
like he asked for a show of hands, right? She’s desperate. Which
one of you? by being anxious can add a single
cubit to his lifespan? And the answer? Nobody. Some
people say that movies are a waste of time. Some say sporting events
are a waste of time. Most men would argue that shopping
is a huge waste of time. But the biggest waste of time
of all is the time that we spend worrying. Not only will it not
add to our lives, studies, as I suggest, now regularly state
that worry will shorten our lives. J.C. Ryle said, nothing is more
common than a careful and troubled spirit. And nothing so mars a
believer’s usefulness and diminishes his inward peace. Nothing, on
the contrary, glorifies God so much as a cheerful spirit in
the midst of temporal troubles. We’re not supposed to be consumed
by anxieties and the necessities of life. We’re supposed to trust
God in them. There’s a third illustration
here. Illustration about clothing. Here’s one for the ladies. If
God provides for the raiment on inanimate objects such as
flowers, will He provide such? Will He not provide such for
His children? Verse 28 and following. These flowers, they grow without
any toil whatsoever. God is the one that awakens them.
The bulb, the seed, whatever. God is the one that brings it
to life and brings it to flower. And He ultimately says that Solomon,
even King Solomon, the wisest and most wealthy man that ever…
You talk about a guy who probably had a nice ride wherever he went.
No, he didn’t have wheels, but… And I don’t even take that to
mean that it was necessarily limited to the clothes that he
wore. I think wherever Solomon went, it was opulence wherever
he went. God says Solomon’s opulence is
nothing compared to the beautiful flowers of the field that I planted. If God provides for short-lived
grass that ultimately is going to be raked up into a pile and
possibly even burned? Will God not provide us what
we need? The conclusion is, don’t be anxious.
Quit your worry. Jesus gives another reason here.
In verse 32, he gives another reason that a life of worry and
anxiety is indicative of those who do not know or trust God.
It’s of the heathen. Verse 32, all these things the
Gentiles eagerly seek. They’re the ones that should
be stressing. This is all there is for the Gentile. This is all
there is for the heathen, for the godless man. No wonder they
don’t acknowledge God. They don’t acknowledge their
Heavenly Father. Everything they get, they got on their own in
their minds. They’re in total ignorance, total
darkness with regards to the providence and provision of a
loving Father. But not the Christian. And that
leads to the third reason. Not only is the life of worry
and anxiety indicative of those who do not know or trust God,
if you look on to the passage, our loving Father already knows
what we need. It’s so basic. It is so basic, this argument,
that it is rooted in our basic understanding of God. Think with
me through this. We were brought to repentance,
were we not? Because we came to be terrifyingly
convinced that we were sinners and that God saw us. God knew
it. And because of that, we repented
because of the sudden awareness of the all seeing eye of God. And now has God been blinded? Has
God turned a blind eye to us, His children? How easily we forget
that God sees our need. God sees our cares. And God and His loving heart
will provide. How simple is the argument here
that even a child could grasp it? And that’s all that Paul
needed to say. God knows. God knows what you need. It is
rooted in the very nature of God. who sees his inclination
to move and provide for us. And then fourthly, and in closing,
our sovereign provider has already ordained for our future care.
So we can’t be anxious about our life in the here and now,
and we shouldn’t be anxious about our life in the future, because
it’s already in God’s sovereign hand. Look at verse 34. Therefore, do not be anxious
about tomorrow. For tomorrow will care for itself.
In other words, God has it already well in hand. Each day has enough
trouble of its own. We don’t need to worry about
the weather. God’s got that covered. We don’t need to worry about
the economy. That’s in God’s hand. We don’t need to worry
about political unrest and turmoil and war. God’s got that covered. And we can be at great ease because
God covered the greatest trouble of all, our sin. God covered it all when he sent
Christ. Because of that, as children
of God, we cannot live anxious, fearful, unfaithful lives. Let’s examine our hearts before
him. Our merciful God, we thank You
and praise You that You have reminded us that we are called
to a life of faith. Not a moment of faith and repentance.
A life of faith that constantly issues forth in new ways of expressing
our trust of You. Lord, we know that the world
will throw at us a thousand things. The devil as well. A thousand
reasons not to trust You. But God, we know you. We know
your nature. We know your loving heart. And
we are comforted once again to yield ourselves under the admonition
to not be anxious for anything. Grant us the grace, Father. In
Jesus’ name, Amen. you you