Overcoming Daily Anxiety by Seeking the Kingdom First (Matthew 6)
Are you tired of carrying anxiety every day? Jesus invites us to seek God’s kingdom first and trust Him to provide everything we truly need.
Matthew 6
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Are you worried today?
In Matthew 6, we see the continued words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. After some wise instruction about prayer, fasting, and storing up treasures in Heaven, Jesus shifts to the topic of worry. Certainly, there were many things for those in Jesus’ audience to be worried about.
N.T. Wright notes that in Palestine, including Galilee and Judea, the literacy rate was around 10-15%. It was primarily an agrarian society, with most people living in rural villages and small towns rather than in larger cities like Tiberias and Jerusalem. The social structure was diverse, ranging from the ruling elite, which included rulers and their families, to regional and municipal elites like royal officials, large landowners, and wealthy merchants. There were also lower-level officials, scribes, priests, and a professional class of small merchants, shop owners, fishermen, and skilled artisans. Below these groups were the peasant class of subsistence farmers and unskilled laborers, followed by the destitute, including beggars, prostitutes, and the disabled. Slavery was a separate category, and anyone could become enslaved due to losing a battle or experiencing a significant business failure.[1]
Jesus was speaking to a group of people who constantly felt the heavy-handedness of the ruling elite. They knew what it was to see mass public crucifixions and to watch their homes and lands ripped from their grasp. They longed for a deliverer –a promised Messiah who would free them from Roman oppression. It’s to these people Jesus says these words:
25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?
To be clear, Jesus is not saying that things like eating and drinking do not matter. They do, but not as much as we think. Also, Jesus’ call to live a worry-free life does not mean we will not be plagued with panic attacks and waves of emotion that sometimes knock us on our backs. Picture Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane sweating drops of blood. Instead, Jesus’ statement is an invitation as much as it is a command.
Ultimately, the root cause of all worry and anxiety is a warped perspective of God's work in this world, and the only cure is to reorient our minds to seek Christ's kingdom purposes.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Lord, I praise you for your care and provision, knowing that you feed the birds and clothe the flowers. You remind me that I am of greater value, and I thank you for the assurance that you will meet my needs. Your goodness, faithfulness, wisdom, and sovereignty are constant, and I worship you for being a trustworthy God.
Release | I release my worries and anxieties about daily needs and future uncertainties. I acknowledge that worry cannot add a single moment to my life and that it stems from a lack of confidence in your provision. I let go of my fears, instead trusting in your promise to take care of me.
Ask | I ask for a heart that seeks your kingdom first and prioritizes your righteousness. Help me to reorient my life so that my time, energy, and resources reflect your priorities. Please guide me in practical ways to live out this trust, such as making time to hear your voice, working with excellence, and resting in your character.
Yield | I yield my plans and desires to you, trusting that you know what I need before I even ask. I submit to your will and timing, knowing you are in control. May I rest in your peace, confident that you will provide all I need as I seek you first.
