The Weakness of Worry
“Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? … Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:27, 34
I can’t ever recall a time when in the middle of a stressful season I said to a friend, “I feel so much better this morning; thank goodness I was up worrying all night.” I’m not sure why we often default to worrying when we know it can’t achieve a single thing. I suppose worrying makes us feel like we’re getting ahead of a possible pain, fallout, or loss we fear is coming down the pike. We know getting out in front won’t stop whatever we’re worrying about from hitting us, but at least we won’t be ambushed by it. At best, worry is a lousy form of preparation and usually a terrible waste of energy since half the time the stuff we worry about never happens anyway.
This is what Jesus is detailing for us in these verses. Worrying can’t lengthen our lives by even a moment (or add an inch to our height, which I could have used while playing basketball in high school). And there’s no need for us to stew about what troubles might come tomorrow because we have enough to concern ourselves with today. Worrying about what may or may not happen in the future only snatches the precious moments we have right now, the only moments we’re assured of. If we prayerfully and responsibly deal with today’s troubles, instead of squandering the time fretting about tomorrow’s, we might actually be able to keep certain ones from snowballing into yet another day.
Jesus is offering us valuable, commonsense truths that stand on their own, but how much more meaningful when we remember who it is speaking them! That the Son of God Himself is the One relieving us of worry transforms His words from mere wisdom statements to life-changing kingdom of heaven realities because of His presence in our lives. We all know that living a life flooded with worry is awful and fruitless, but much of the time we can’t help it. What we need is to be rescued from it. That rescue is what so much of Jesus’s Sermon is about. Because the presence of Christ has infiltrated our world, He not only teaches us how but also empowers us to live free of debilitating anxiety.
What is keeping you up at night? Where have your resources fallen short of what you need? Who is threatening your possessions? I could tell you, Don’t worry because that’s inadequate and not very smart, but that wouldn’t help you. What is needed are Jesus’s anchoring truths about how the hurting are the flourishing ones because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them and how your heavenly Father knows what you need and is not caught off guard by your concerns. You don’t have to get out in front of what might happen because He’s already there.
Worry doesn’t get to have a bedroom in the Father’s house where daily bread is provided and needs tended. Worry is an outsider in a world where God’s people are infinitely more looked after than birds who can’t meal-plan yet are fed, where flowers that can’t slip into dresses or tuxedos are adorned in glory. And at the bottom of all this, we need not worry because Jesus is present among us. He is with us. He is with you. And the inexhaustible riches of His glory are present to meet your needs.
Heavenly Father, you feed the birds and clothe the flowers, and still I am much more valuable to You. Relieve me from worrying, not only because it’s tiresome and fruitless but because it’s needless in Your presence. Supply me with Your provision, help me remember You are eager to meet my needs, and generously give me Yourself. Let me go throughout my day, not oblivious to my real concerns but anxious to place them in Your care.
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