Anxiety

"“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:25-34, NKJV)

One of the things our church has done to facilitate our growth in Christ is to select a meditation/memory verse. You may notice on the main page to our web site that we list the precious stone of the month. We use a gemstone merely as a memory cue of what is truly valuable, namely God’s Word.

This month we are focusing on Matthew 6:33. In this verse Jesus tells us to make God’s kingdom a priority and then everything will take care of itself. This verse is easier preached than practice. There are so many things in this life that grab our attention. For most everyone challenges often arise that cause us to doubt the goodness of God. We may lose a job and be in a difficult financial position. Perhaps we are struggling in our personal relationships with friends or family. Perhaps we fear that all our best made plans and dreams will never come true.

Jesus’ word to the anxious soul then and now is to seek the kingdom of God first. Perhaps one of the reasons we may be going through a particular difficulty is to cause us to depend less on ourselves and trust more in God. God takes care of the flowers and the birds which are not made in the image of God. How much more will He care for you who are made in His image. How much more will He care for you who have been adopted into His family through the person of Christ. Lift your head up, seek the kingdom of God first today and your anxiety will be a forgotten memory.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4:6, NKJV)