FIVE TIMES out of 8 verses in Matthew 6:26-33, Jesus tells them, “don’t’ worry” or “stop habitually worrying.” Emm, what do you think the point the Lord is trying to make?
“LOOK AT,” an intensive verb, means “LOOK CAREFULLY AT.” ” Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? LOOK AT the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?”And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”- Matt 6:25-33
The word “worry,” comes from an old word meaning “to strangle.” It was used when someone had their oxygen cut off from their body. Putting the hands around the neck and squeezing the life out of the person. To “squeeze,” the life out of them! In the spiritual realm it is to attack the spiritual oxygen as it were of faith and love in the LORD. It is to seek to cut off the supply and render the person ineffective, through tempting them to embrace the lies about God, His character, His promises, His Word, their position as those in the security of “In Christ,” and attack and seek to tempt them to see Him and themselves apart from who He truly is and who they are “ In Christ,” and his provision for them! The temptation to continually to tempt them to lean to their own understanding, which He prohibits, rather than trusting Him with all of their hearts.{Read Proverbs 3:5-6.} Tempted to be taken up with temporal as the priority of living rather than His eternal perspective and applying His Word to living will squeeze the life out of us,… the spiritual perspective as revealed in His Word as our rule of authority for living replaced through misplaced affections and priorities!
In the above verses He mentions four categories, eat, drink, body, clothing…and consumed with these will lead us away from Him! He says “But,” the word can be translated, “Rather,,,” than preoccupied with them, Be pre-occupied with Him and His Person, Provision and promises…His Kingdom- and righteousness!
So in these FOUR things He tells us where our THINKING is to be set…FIXED…
1. – On His Faithfulness, – v26, 30
2. – On His Value of you – v26
3. – On not behaving as a “pagan”- v 32
4. – On where your responsibility to Him is to be- to seek continually as the priority in your thinking and doing- the kingdom of God.- v 33
Not only COMMANDED not to, you have the CAPACITY through the empowering Spirit not TO DO SO.- ( Read Philippians 2:13). You can CHOOSE to renew your mind in alignment with His Word and learn a new pattern of thinking when tempted to worry!
“STOP HABITUALLY WORRYING… TRUST THE LORD JESUS”