Matthew 6:26-31
26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
What is the cure for anxiety? It has to do with understanding the confidence that we have in our Father in heaven and of His sovereign and gracious ability to take care of our need. But overcoming anxiety is not only a power of positive thinking. Because anxiety is not just negative thinking. A person who worries, in those moments of worry, is not thinking much about God and that part that He plays in that troubling circumstance.
In our text today, Jesus reminds us that the remedy for anxiety is to put God back in our thought process. People become anxious because their treasure is in the wrong place. Vs 19- “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal”.
Let’s talk a little bit about treasure. What does Jesus mean here? When I think of treasure, I think of the movie, The Goonies, where a group of kids are searching for legendary pirate treasure. They want to use it to keep their parents’ house from foreclosing. And I think that is one thing we like about buried treasure, right? It isn’t the shiny gold and gems and doubloons that we like, but it is what they will do for our future.
In my group therapy sessions, I often use an icebreaker with my group, “If you were given a 10 million dollar lottery ticket, what would you do with it?” That icebreaker generates the most discussion! People like to talk about what treasure would do for their future! Me too.. it is fun to dream about that…but on the other hand, it begs the question about your level of anxiety, doesn’t it? The more you dwell on that question of treasure, and it being the key to your secure future, the more it indicates the anxiety that you have about your present circumstances.
And for good reason…Let’s face it, the last couple of years have not been good for giving people a sense of future security…Maybe this pandemic has really given you some financial anxiety. It was almost overnight that the stock market went from a bull to a bear market. And a lot of people took a huge financial hit, many people who have spent years and years investing in their retirement portfolios, lost huge chunks of their nest egg. Others have lost their jobs, some have lost careers that they have worked decades to become secure in.
And now they are scratching their heads saying, “now what?” Maybe you haven’t been as impacted as others, but as you look ahead to the future, you don’t have a lot of hope that you will be able to weather this storm. What happens if I lose my job too? What will I do with the rest of my life? What about my kids?
Jesus says, “treasure isn’t what this is all about, anyway. Maybe the blessings that He has given us over the past time of prosperity have been invested in the wrong place? Jesus says that seeking security in this world, and getting all of your ducks in a row is really just a way to make you even more insecure! The more you gather possessions, the more you obsess over your future being made comfortable by stuff… the more anxious you feel about it. Because the more you dwell on it and plan it out in your mind and ponder it, the more it ensnares you. Bottom line: treasure on earth produces anxiety.
So what kind of treasure has the opposite effect? What kind of treasure will take away anxiety? What kind of treasure will give me peace and make me happy?
Jesus says in verse 20. “Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.” Ok, that is helpful… So we have established that trying to find security in my future produces anxiety… and that all I have to do is the opposite of that… value treasure in heaven. But what does that mean, exactly? Two observations…
- Our treasure in heaven is Christ. He is the One who came down from heaven to pay the penalty for our sins, purchasing our redemption and giving us a hope and a future!
2. The second observation about what treasure in heaven means has to do with the way a Christian lives right now on this earth. There is an element of looking at your life through the lens of eternity… we are only on this planet for a certain number of years… but as Christians, we look forward to spending an eternity in heaven with Christ… and so it would be good to invest in things to prepare us for that.
God’s remedy for anxiety
It is very simple: Jesus says in verse 25, “Don’t worry.” Just don’t do it! You may be thinking, “well, that isn’t much of an answer.” You tell me not to worry, but now I am worried about not worrying. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t just leave it as an imperative. He illustrates for us, what a life of not worrying looks like.
26 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?
When you become anxious about something, it begins to dominate your thinking and you see everything in light of your anxiety. It seems up to you to figure it out… up to you to resolve your anxiety problem. And you are caught in a vicious circle. When you are concerned with the circumstances and how your life will come together, then your happiness is dependent on your circumstances.
Yes, life is very hard right now and we are all stressed out by our circumstances… even if nothing other than our daily routines have changed significantly. Jesus says to consider the birds of the air. They don’t worry about what will happen to them, they just enjoy the beauty of life and God takes care of them. Jesus says that you are far more important to God than a bird. He understands the difficulty that you are facing and He loves you immensely… more than you will ever understand! But He wants you to trust Him as the birds do.
God always provides food for the birds, He always brings the rain to water the flowers and life goes on, just as it has for thousands of years. You may not see the big picture, but He does. Put it in perspective! God knows what you need most and He will take care of you and sustain you, even if you go through a difficulty.
It is when we live this way that we discover that all we need, He will provide. He does allow us to go through difficulty, but He never fails His children. He will take you to the place where He wants you! Turn your eyes to Him, here and now… don’t think of, well one day Jesus will be there to help me when this is all over…No, right here and right now, everything you are experiencing in your life is an intentional part of God’s plan, and He says to you, “seek first My kingdom and My righteousness… and then the things you are worried about… I will take care of them.”
