Worthless Worry

I came across this photo and could not resist basing a blog post on it. How true it is that we worry over the tiniest matters, things we rarely remember later.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34 (New Living Translation, NLT) emphasis mine

This is Jesus Himself speaking to us, admonishing us not to worry. As I read it, I noticed a couple things in particular. He says that worry shows that our faith is small. In other words, when we allow worry to come in, we reveal the fact that our faith level is low. Faith in God will keep worry out because faith trusts God. Faith says God is my Provider, my Protector, my Healer. To keep worry out, we must build ourselves up in faith- by staying in the Word and by praying in tongues. Faith comes by hearing the Word, and praying in the Holy Spirit builds up our inner man.

The second thing I noticed is that worrying about things is how unbelievers live. Unsaved people do not have the assurance that God will take care of them like we do. As children of God our mindset should be different than the world, and it should show. The world should see our lack of worry and fear and be inspired to have what we have. Our peace of mind should be evident and should draw people to Christ. We are not to live and think like the unsaved do- and we aren’t to try to. There is to be a distinct difference between the children of the light and the children of the dark. One huge difference is that we do not worry.

Worry, which is simply meditation on fear, is not for the child of God. Our thoughts and meditation should be on the Word and the faith and peace it produces. Worry is worthless, which is why we are not to take part in it.