Posted on 06/12/2025 12:39:21 AM PDT by metmom
“‘But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!’” (Matthew 6:30).
It seems odd, does it not, that we who have freely put our eternal destiny into Christ’s hands would at times refuse to believe that He will provide what we need to eat, drink, and wear. Faith should extend to the ordinary, just as it extends to the extraordinary.
Worry is not a trivial sin because it strikes a blow both at God’s love and integrity. Worry declares our heavenly Father to be untrustworthy in His Word and His promises. To claim belief in the inerrancy of Scripture yet in the next moment express worry is to deny that very belief. Worry reveals that we are mastered by our circumstances and by our own finite perspective and understanding rather than God’s Word. Worry is therefore not only debilitating and destructive but also maligns and impugns God.
When a believer is not fresh in the Word every day so that God is in his mind and heart, then Satan moves into the vacuum and plants worry. And worry pushes the Lord even further from our minds.
Paul counsels us as he did the Ephesians, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might” (Eph. 1:18–19).
Ask Yourself
Have you ever seriously considered the unspoken statement you make when worry defines your reaction to life’s uncertainties? If you understood the root beliefs that fuel the fires of anxiety, what effect would this knowledge have on your level of fretfulness?
From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.
Studying God’s Word ping
A friend of mine gets upset because I’m not worried about anything. He keeps trying to get me worried.
Great post! I needed to be reminded of this which I guess is a sin in itself.
I have an inkling that my breast cancer was a result of too much worry and stress. (Allegedly, stress weakens the cells that fight cancer. IDK if true.) I try to keep calm and put things in perspective.
Misery loves company.
Stress suppresses immune function. People with allergies know that when they are under stress, their allergic symptoms increase.
I don’t think needed to be reminded of something is a sin.
The next to the last year I was in college, I had lost a fair amount of weight and my clothes didn’t fit anymore. I certainly was not able to buy very many new clothes though one friend had a sewing machine and took in several pairs of pants for me. I had a very limited wardrobe, needless to say. I remember dwelling on this teaching of Jesus about the flowers of the fields and how God clothed them so beautifully and how we, His children, were worth so much more than flowers. I trusted Him and prayed for His provision.
It seemed like the very next week the owner’s wife of the store where I worked brought in several bags of clothes she no longer needed and wanted me to have. They were wealthy people so the clothes were lightly worn and of very good quality. They fit me perfectly. And don’t you know one of my favorites was a beautiful dress with a white background print full of flowers! God is so faithful and good.
When we have a God who tells us He counts every hair on our head (Luke 12:7), when we get up and when we lie down and every thought we have (Psalm 139) and knows every tear we have ever cried (Psalm 56:8), I’ve learned that I can trust Him with everything He permits in my life and know it has a purpose within His plan for me. How could I worry or be anxious for anything when I truly believe that? It takes time to learn this truth and I don’t claim to be 100% there every time, but I’m closer every day.
I have a couple friends who are also struggling financially with stories of God’s provision like that.
A few years ago when canning jars were NOT to be found for love or money, I found a box full of them at the end of a driveway on our road with a sign that said *free*.
Not as big as others, but still, I got the message.
Well, keep praying for me cause I still have further to go that you seem to have.
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