day 5

People worry and experience anxiety in their everyday lives. Whether it’s conflict with parents, an overdue project, an important test, drama with friends, or uncertainty about the future, don’t worry (pun intended); you’re not alone. Anxiety is a natural part of being human. But there was one person who never worried – Jesus. As the only perfect person to ever live, Jesus never worried or experienced anxiety. In fact, He commanded us, His followers, not to worry as well.

Jesus has commanded us, as His followers, not to worry. This might sound impossible, but remember, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). To learn how Jesus did this, let’s take a closer look at what He said about worry in Matthew 6:25-34. We’ll learn that as followers of Christ, we don’t need to worry or be anxious about anything because God, on His throne, will take care of all needs, both now and in the future.

Starting in verse 25, Jesus says, “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?”

At first, our natural reaction is to fight against what Jesus says. How can He tell us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear? Aren’t these things essential to life? Yes, they are, but Jesus also knows there is more to life than just our physical needs. That’s why He follows up with the question: “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  From a heavenly perspective, there is so much more to life than these things.

Also notice that when Jesus says, “Do not be anxious,” He’s not offering a suggestion, but a command. He speaks with the same authority as when He tell us not to commit adultery or not to judge others. So, when we do worry and are anxious, we are stepping outside the life God is calling us to live.

Next, in verses 26-30, Jesus says, “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?”

Here, Jesus reminds us how God takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.  Jesus asks, “Are you not of more value than they?” The answer? A resounding “Yes!” We are created in the image of God, uniquely crafted by Him to reflect His glory. He sent His only Son to die for us and to pay the price for our sins in order for us to be with Him forever. Of course we are more valuable to Him than birds or flowers.

Here lies the entire point of what Jesus is saying. Where will you place your trust and hope? Will you rely on food, drink, clothing, or other material things? Or will you place your trust in God, believing He will provide you with what you need, as you need it?

If we are too focused on material things, we are not able to fully serve God. But if we trust Him to take care of us as He takes care of His creation, we can serve Him with all we have. At the root of worry is unbelief. It’s a failure to trust that God will do what He has promised. But Jesus calls us to trust Him with our needs and give our worries to Him.

Does worry accomplish anything? Of course not. It merely steals our joy in the present moment. If it can’t change the future and only makes today more miserable, why do it?

3. Seek First the Kingdom of God
Jesus gets to the core of this issue in verses 31-34. He says, “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.”

In this passage, Jesus repeats His command twice and again emphasizes that our Father in Heaven knows exactly what we need and will provide us with those things in His perfect timing. The key, once again, lies in what master we serve.

Jesus tells us to seek first God’s kingdom, and our worries and needs will be taken care of by our Father in heaven. When we truly serve God with all our hearts, something amazing happens. As we get to know Him through reading His Word and prayer, as we serve others and live generously, our focus starts to shift. We begin to value the eternal over the temporary, and our worries begin to fade away.

4. One Day at a Time
Finally, Jesus gives us some very practical wisdom in verse 34: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

It’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly worrying about the future. However, Jesus says to take it one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t worry about tomorrow or the next day or the next. Instead, seek first God’s Kingdom today and honor Him in what you say and do.

So, when you start to worry, remember this: you can trust God who gives you what you need when you need it. Jesus is calling you today to trust Him to provide for you – to leave worry and anxiety behind. How will you respond?

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5

This passage has been quoted – and misquoted – throughout Christian history. Both Christians and non-Christians have used “Do not judge” to avoid confrontation with others. Does this mean I should never think critically about someone’s actions, express concerns, or confront someone about an issue? To fully understand this, we need to dive deeper into the text to understand what God wants from us based on this command.

1. Look at Ourselves
The most important thing to understand from this passage is that we must look at ourselves before looking at others. We can’t help others with their sin issue if we haven’t dealt with our own. When we first hold up our own lives against God’s Word, we begin to unlock the mystery of our own deliverance from God’s judgment.

2. Confront Others Second
In John 8, we see a powerful example of how self-examination should come before judgment. Jesus was confronted by a group of people eager to condemn a woman caught in sin. They wanted to see how Jesus would respond to someone with a major sin issue. Jesus told the crowd that whoever is without sin can cast the first stone. One by one, the accusers left, realizing they were each imperfect and inadequate in some way and, therefore, unable to pass judgment. In doing this, Jesus forced the accusers to deal with their own sin first. Jesus also spoke directly to the woman about her sin at the end of the story when He told her to go and sin no more.

Only when we have truly embraced the love, forgiveness, and Lordship of Christ can we begin to confront others in a good and healthy way. In fact, confronting someone before looking at ourselves first would make us a hypocrite. When we’ve dealt with our own sin first, we are prepared to offer a cure, not condemnation. Yes, we do address the sin in the lives of others, but not with hatred or arrogance. Instead, we do so with empathy and love, recognizing that other people don’t have to live an empty and unfulfilled life, chasing after things that aren’t pleasing to God.

This is why the Good News of Jesus is so important, because our only hope for salvation is through a relationship with Christ. We can never fix our sin issue on our own; only Jesus has the power to do that!

To embrace the great gift of salvation God offers for each of us, we must look at ourselves and at the faults that hinder us from living the way God intended for us to live. Matthew 7 calls us to remove the plank from our own eye before addressing the speck in the eye of someone else.

This is our starting point! Only through first evaluating ourselves and looking at our motives, thoughts, and actions can we truly know God and understand how we should relate, speak, and act toward others.