Do Not Be Anxious • Devotion 6: That Is a Wrap, or Is it?
Pastor John Carter
It has been a fantastic journey walking through Matthew chapter 6. We have looked at practicing our righteousness, prayer, and giving in front of other people and what that implies. Going into detail through the Lord’s Prayer was awesome! I love how intentional Jesus is in teaching us God’s character and how to communicate with Him. Learning about fasting led to dealing with what we trust in, money or God. This week we have been walking through anxiety. There have been many topics we have covered over this series. I trust it has made you think and consider whether you have applied the Scripture correctly to your life. I hope and pray that the challenge of the Bible has deeply impacted you. I pray that you see the words of God as something you can apply directly to your life, today. I find it good to wrestle with the things that are hard and coming to a conclusion on those things is always reassuring. I obviously cannot understand or know how these passages affect you. I know for my life, the timing of writing these devotions and the subject matter is very appropriate. The last passage we have to cover is found in Matthew 6:34,“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Hopefully, you are able to take some time this week (or weekend) and enjoy being with your family and lead them in the things of God. This passage is a passage of encouragement, not one that should cause any panic. It is very possible that when you read this text, you here, “There are always going to be things that cause you anxiety, so just deal with the anxiety you have today.” I know in my head, I often plan for the worst and hope for the best. It can be a place of much anxiety. This week, I have tried to focus your attention more on the promises than on the pessimistic side of thinking. If you are one who tends to “plan for the worst,” you read that verse and cannot help but initiate the worst-case scenario in your mind. Maybe you are the exact opposite and you are the eternal optimist. I love optimistic people, but find it hard to comprehend how they see everything playing out so perfectly in their mind. My wife is one of these optimistic people and she helps me see that it is not all “worst case” when there is plenty of good and positive things to see, hear, and be joyful over. Just as the passage says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow;” stop and smell the roses. This passage in Matthew reminds me of a passage in James.
James 4:13-17 says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” Here, James is addressing the one who may be super optimistic, and planning to make a profit. They are very excited to plan out their future. I see the words of James being completely wise. We do not know what the future holds. We cannot determine the outcome of tomorrow for “tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” We can think of the best possible outcome or we can think of the worst possible outcome. In both cases, there is the aspect of the will of God. James is teaching us the exact same thing Jesus is teaching in Matthew 6:34. We have today, and what we do with today is what we need to focus our minds on. The prior verse teaches us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Take time today to gather your family around the living room and spend time enjoying each other. Open the Bible as a family and read it together. Pray together. Do something fun. The fun does not have to be expensive or costly. Fun to a kid is just spending time with them. It could be a puzzle or board game. Maybe it is playing a video game with them and just hanging out. Maybe it is going to the park or walking along a nature trail. The point is, when I find myself focused on things that overwhelm me, what brings me back is when I divert my anxious focus to the blessings that are right in front of me and enjoy the moment I have today. You know what is right for your family. You know how these verses should be applied to your life. Today is not the end, but maybe the beginning of turning over your future into the hands of God. It is trusting that He knows what you need. It is trusting that He desires to have a relationship with you. You have learned how to talk with Him. You have learned how to not trust the things the world says to trust in. Now, we just have to live it.
In James 1:22-25, we read, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” I love this passage because it takes away the excuses of tomorrow and says do it today. Make today the day that you take action. All these devotions and Bible studies are not just to give you knowledge, but they are meant to move you to action. It is putting the Scripture into practice and living it out. There is no better time than right now. I love how Paul words it when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, he writes, “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
I pray these devotions are of value to you. I pray they help you know God better. My ultimate desire is that, through these last few weeks, you are able to see that the promises of God are 100% trustworthy. Despite the way we think sometimes, God promises us His grace and salvation today! Trust in His promises and know that He is true and trustworthy. Live it out and let tomorrow come with its own struggles. Today, this moment, and this time is what you have. What are you going to do with it? Be blessed!