THE PEACE OF GOD

Jesus said three times, “Be anxious for nothing” in the New Testament.   In Matthew 6:24, it talks about Mammon and then goes right into:  “don’t worry”.  The spirit of Mammon is behind the god of worry:  Today, people are filled with anxiety and worry about the future.

God tried to convince the Israelites in the wilderness that they had nothing to worry about, and He says the same to us today.   A lot of our perceived needs come from our abundance and opulence.

I Timothy 6:7-8- for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Can you imagine coming to the place where just enough food and clothing would make you content?   We are bombarded with advertisements and cultural pressures to have the latest and best of many things, whether we can afford them or not.  This same driving force can also cause us to be discontent with what we have.   

LET’S LOOK AT SEVEN THINGS JESUS TELLS US NOT TO WORRY ABOUT

Matthew 6:25- “  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.  Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?

1)     DON’T WORRY ABOUT FOOD OR CLOTHING

God gave us life, so surely He can support it.   The way God made the human body gives proof that  He will provide for it.  He gave us a mouth and tongue to eat and taste, a digestive system to break it down, and a cellular structure to be nourished by it.    If God made our bodies, He will take care of them.

2)     GOD TAKES CARE OF THE BIRDS

Matthew 6:26- “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?”

This verse is not saying that we don’t need to work.  Have you noticed how hard birds work?    It is saying here that they live day by day.  They don’t store up, but God faithfully feeds them.  The sluggard says ‘well God dropped manna out of heaven to feed the Israelites”.  That’s true, but they still had to go out and gather it.  God gives you the power to get wealth.    When you let a chicken out of the hen house, the first thing they do is start walking around and pecking for food.

3)     WORRY WILL NOT PROLONG YOUR LIFE

The Bible is clear that our days are numbered and God knows how long we will live on the earth.  God isn’t worried about the day we die, and we shouldn’t either.  Worry can cause us to do things that will shorten our lives.  Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple,   hated switches and buttons because they symbolize finality and endings. He had such a fear of death and finality that he ignored the symptoms of liver disease and he suddenly died prematurely of liver failure

Matthew 6:27- Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to your stature?  (can add a single hour to his span of life?  NLT)

God is for us taking care of our bodies because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit but we shouldn’t give it so much attention that we have no time to strengthen our spirit.

4)     DON’T WORRY ABOUT CLOTHING

Matthew 6:-28-30:   “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?” 

In my travels, I’ve had the privilege of seeing some of the most beautiful flowers in the world.  This includes the tulips of Buschard Gardens in Vancouver,  the proteas of South Africa, and the orchids of Hawaii.  These verses about clothing are similar to the discourse Jesus gave the disciples when they complained about having no food.   After witnessing the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Jesus said, “Why do you worry about food?  If you saw that, why can’t you see this?” 

5)     DON’T WORRY ABOUT DYING BEFORE YOUR TIME

Matthew 6:31-32-  “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.”

God is saying that the Gentiles have no heavenly Father, but we do.   He is saying that they have a reason to worry about what to eat, drink, and wear, but we don’t.  In Africa, they have what is known as “the big five”.  These are the five most sought after animals by professional hunters.   They are also able to seriously injure or even kill you.  They are the elephant, cape buffalo, leopard, lion, and rhinoceros.   I have found, as a parent and grandparent of babies and small children, the big five are:  power outlets, things that can cause choking, fire ants, yellow jackets, and dogs.  Thank God that we have a heavenly Father who watches over them as we lift them in prayer by faith every day.  I take comfort in:

           Matthew 18:10 (NLT)  “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones.  For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.”

6)     DON’T WORRY ABOUT NOT HAVING ENOUGH “THINGS.”

Matthew 6:33- “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

The Greek word for “added” comes from the way the Jews would measure out wheat with a balance and then throw in some extra for good measure.  This is God’s promise to those who will wake up every morning thinking of ways to bless and expand the kingdom of God. 

7)     LIVE LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME

Matthew 6:34- “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Most of our worry has to do with the future.   Things that haven’t happened.  I heard the story of a man who tells his wife, “Stop worrying, what’s it accomplished?”  Her reply was, “Oh, quite a bit; 90% of the things I’ve worried about have never happened.”

Worry has a very active imagination.  You will find yourself worrying about things ten years down the road.   If you have something you’re worrying about today, is it because you are projecting a picture of a dismal end in the future?    Yet, most of what we worry about never materializes.  We need to crucify the regrets of our past and the worries for tomorrow.  Live for today.  It does us no good to try to take on all the world’s problems.  We should get focused on Jesus and the Word of God.  We will then find that the things on earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.