Worry Free Living: Stepping Stones For Victorious Christ Centered Living #10

 

Matthew 6:24-34

" 'You cannot serve two Masters: You will  love one, and hate the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life; what you will eat, what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more important than food, and the body more than clothes.
Look at the birds of the air. The do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns; and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet, I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, not dressed like one of these.
If this is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow it is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith.

So, don't worry saying 'What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? ' For the pagans run after these things, and your 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. Therefore, don't worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own.

I Wonder

I wonder, how many Christ Followers reading this can actually say that they have never worried about something some time in your life? Just think about your answer to this question for a moment before you answer: As a parent, your child has a 104 degree temperature, and it's really hard to lower the temp. That would be a reason for worry. Or you are waiting up way into the night for a child who should have come home hours earlier. That would really get to you. It may be all this inflation accompanying the horrible policies of the current President of The United States, and it's affecting the whole world. Not being able to have ends meet could really get to you as well. Some of you who are military veterans have taken multiple combat tours to the various war zones of our world, and it's really possible anxiety stays with you. Or maybe you are fearing an invasion from a country nearby where you live. Maybe, you have already been invaded. Finally, you could be undergoing persecutions simply because you decided to follow Jesus, and the persecution is taking it's toll on your soul. In a nutshell, anxiety is a real issue that real people face daily, and sometimes this anxiety pierces all the way to your soul. 

Written Just For You For Jesus Loving Purpose

Fearful one, if you are experiencing any of the above, or other anxiety provoking experiences, it just might be that this Jesus teaching, recorded in Matthew 6:24-34, may be written just for you. It wasn't taught to make you feel guilty. Nor was it written to shame you because you are not living up to the highest standards of the Christian faith. It is written, and Jesus taught it, with the motive of helping you cope with worry.  Jesus is only wanting to help each of us out regarding worry.

Worrying Isn't Sinning

Please, let me be clear. Jesus is NOT saying worrying, or being anxious, is being sinful. He is not saying you are sinning just because you worry from time to time. Jesus never ever sinned. (Check out 2 Corinthians 5:21.) But I guarantee you that Jesus became traumatically anxious at least once while He was walking on this earth. And He worried with overwhelming grief. You may ask, "What in the world are you talking about?" Jesus and worry don't seem to be able to exist in the entire universe. Well, Let's check that out.

Sweating Blood

In Luke 22: 39-44,  Jesus is in a terrible emotional state. The Cross was looming awfully on the horizon.  No the Cross was not taking Him by surprise. He even tried to tell His disciples about it, but they couldn't hear it; nevertheless, He knew it, and as He prayed in this passage, He began sweating blood. The more He prayed the more He sweated, and as He sweated, the perspiration was, and is, the result of little capillaries in his cardiovascular system  breaking down releasing blood. He really did sweat blood. The medical term for this is hematohidrosis. This happens when a person is so stressed, or so worried, that blood sweating occurs, and this is what happened to Jesus. Remember Jesus NEVER sinned, but He definitely got anxious. After, praying through, and after seeking God first, He settled in, became grounded and peaceful. This took Him all the way through the horrors of His time leading up to the Cross and the cross itself. 

Very Important Truths

Your Focus:

Here are some life transforming truths: Worry has to do with what, or with whom you serve. If you read verse 24, you will see there are two potential focuses. Worry begins at a place of your focus.  Is your first primary focus God? Or is your focus on only things money can by.  If it's the former, you are laying the groundwork for peace. If it is the latter, you are setting yourself up for emotional pain.

God Cares About Your Stuff:

Next, God cares about stuff. He cares about food, clothing, drink, shelter or any other needs. He clearly cares about all other forms of creation. And He provides for them. And if you really look closely at this passage, you will see He cares more for you than all other creatures on the earth. But is your focus on stuff or on God. Is your focus on the gift giver or the gifts provided by the gift giver who, by the way, really wants to give you the gifts. The greatest gift is life, which only God, the gift giver, can give.

How? It's In The Seeking:

So, how do you get your faith focus right:  Keep reading the passage, and you will see that if you seek God, and "His Kingdom first, everything else will be added." Yep! Life -- and all the stuff -- will come IF You Seek God first, through His Son, Jesus, by the power of The Holy Spirit!  That's why Jesus is in my first breath. His teachings, and the teachings of the Bible, govern my being each day one day at a time.. There is no issue in my life where I say, "there are times I fail God because I sometimes forget to pray." WHAT? When I hear this I am amazed. I want to live, and I want to be fully alive! Therefore, I breath.  I also want to live; therefore, I pray, and other spiritual practices are a continual part of my life daily life. This happens continually. 

Right Now:

Now, right now, I am going through some challenging times. Real life threatening things have been occurring in my journey for quite some time; however, I live in God's resurrection power, and I have life.  My capability to do so has absolutely NO thing to do with being able to be so fully alive on my own. It has everything to do with seeking my Lord first. And when I do start getting anxious, I come to myself, and realize who is in control. I get back on track and seek HIM first. 

One Last Thing:

Jesus closes out this passage with some really profound wisdom. Here is what He says. "Take NO thought for tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Today has enough trouble of it's own." As we seek God first, we need to shorten out focus on time. Seeking life,  peace, and avoiding worry is a one day at a time relationship with God. When people greet me with "How are you doing?" I respond, "I am taking each day as a gift, one day at at time." Oddly enough most respond, "Well, that's all you can do."  Again, this amazes me. Why? because there is Supernatural Life Giving Eternal Life that will fill each ones life, if we focus the locus of seeking life, in Christ, one day at a time. Focusing on God's marvelous, loving promises, that provide life, have little to do with how much stuff we have. They have everything to do with Serving God First. Seeking God First. Living, by faith one day at at time.

If you choose this Jesus path for coping with worry, you will find you are going to meet your worrisome circumstances head on. And your will, by God's eternal grace, have "Victory In Jesus!"