Matt. 6:25 "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? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
It is interesting that Jesus, The Word made flesh here teaching His created ones, tells us all "Don't be anxious", 3 times in just these few verses. He certainly knew that we all would struggle with worry when He said this. There is no vain repetition with God, and so Jesus would not have used this command 3 times if He didn't know that we needed it hear it 3 times. And it is a command.
Anxious means; Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried. Matthew Henry says "this is the sin of disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life, which are a bad sign that both the treasure and the heart are on the earth". If we are so concerned with this life that we worry all the time, then are we really thinking about where our true home is or where our true reward is? "The thought is a disturbing thought that hurries the mind back and forth, and hangs it in suspense, which disturbs our joy in God, is damp upon our hope in Him, breaks the sleep, hinders the enjoyment of ourselves, of our friends and of what God has given us".
Jesus never promised we would be feasting, but that we would be fed and that we would have everything that we need for life and godliness, and He keeps His promises. When we trust Him to keep His promises, then we are able to rest, truly rest, in Him. We are not thinking about all the things He has promised to provide, but we are resting and trusting in Him to do what He has promised He would do.
Jesus starts with the most basic and most worried about topic for man; life. MH- "All that a man has he will give for his life- yet take no thought of it.
Not the length of it- if God chooses to shorten or lengthen it- He is good.
Not the comforts of it- If God chooses to make it bitter or sweet- He is good.
Though many good people have the prospect of having little, yet few have present support."
Not only are we not to be worried about our lives, but we are not to worry about tomorrow. We are not to be concerned about what will happen tomorrow, where we will live tomorrow, what we will eat tomorrow, or even what will happen to us when we're old, because today has enough trouble on its own, so trust that God will care for us tomorrow, just as He has today.
When we truly trust Him, like children trust their parents, then we can "sleep like a baby" in His arms, because we have confidence that He will give to us what is best for us today and tomorrow.
"'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His Word,
just to REST upon His promise,
just to know thus sayeth the Lord,
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him
How I've proved Him 'ore and 'ore
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust Him more.
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