Matthew 6:34 Worry
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Matthew 6:34 New International Version

34. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

One of the main reasons people struggle with worry or anxiety is because life is so unpredictable.  We face sudden trauma or change of plans without warning. We are in a constant state of hoping, wishing, and trying to make decisions based on a future we don’t know.  We hold our breath as we turn corners, gritting our teeth at the possibility of being let down.  We try smiling through the disappointments and as Christians, when asked how we are doing, we are guilty of hiding behind clichés such as “I’m blessed”.     

It is true we are blessed.  We are saved from eternal darkness, given incredible gifts and we are allowed the greatest privilege of being in God’s presence….. We are blessed.  My point is that we, as Christians, have the freedom to express our fears and challenges without being judged by others. We are human with all the frailties that come with it; even with our trust and faith in God, we find ourselves thinking about tomorrow and yes, worrying.  

This happens when we lose sight of God and instead focus on the situation and the problem rather than the problem solver. This is easy to do when Satan, the world and our flesh pull us in every direction. Trying to live a spiritual life within the confines of a physical body is challenging, to say the least. 

Worry means to give way to anxiety or unease and to allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.

The world has taught us that worrying is normal; something we learn to tolerate by medicating; this could be with food or sex or the obvious: drugs and alcohol.  We keep ourselves in a stupor in order not to feel or face the fear of tomorrow.  

When we worry, our world becomes small and our view distorted because it is encased in deception.  Worry is deceiving. It separates us from the truth that God knows our future and if we listen to Him well, He will lead us safely into our tomorrows. 

We must realize that our tomorrows are not dependent on the stock market or our jobs; not even upon our spouses and certainly not upon our own abilities.  Our tomorrows are dependent upon how well we lean upon God. How much do we believe that He is for us and wants to enrich our lives with His plans?  

As long as we believe in our well laid plans and not in God’s, the longer we will be off balance and an available target for the enemy.  His goal is to keep us out of God’s peace and our attention on the things of the world so that we are too busy or worried to hear God’s voice and guidance. 

Challenge: What we meditate on will be our road.  If we focus on thinking about our future and what may or may not happen, our road will be of worry and anxiety, but if we focus on God and what He says, our worries will be crushed and our road will be of peace.

God bless

Marni

Go on to: Matthew 7:3-5 Your Brother
Return to: Food for Thought
Return to: Christian Living Articles

The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.