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? 26Look 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? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If 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? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Mt 6:25-32)
Jesus has been teaching about life in the Kingdom in this part of the Sermon on the Mount which we’ll continue from Friday. Our enemy is constantly working to bring fear into our lives about all kinds of things. The problems we face are very real and seem very large when they come at us. But as we live the Kingdom reality that Jesus calls us to, we become more and more aware that everything that confronts us and everything that we see is subject to God and we know that He loves us very much and will take care of everything that we need. When we live this way, it is counterproductive to worry or entertain fear about things. When our focus is on God, we see more and more how big He is and how small everything else is.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt 6:33-34)
The beauty of it is that the more we focus on Him, the more we become exactly the kind of person that He wants to handle wealth and material things for. So by eliminating worry and striving from your life, you are better able to connect with God, and you then are better able to receive the things that you were worried about receiving (or not receiving what you were afraid of suffering from) in the first place. Of course, it can’t be a contrived effort to receive things. You must truly make God your focus.
It’s a beautiful and effortless system if we will just trust Him. But that is the key because we live in a world that tells us it’s all up to us. God wants to make it easy on us. Put all your worries on Him and trust that He will take care of everything. All you have to do is steward what he gives you and keep your focus on His Kingdom.