29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 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! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:29-34

 

Got anxiety?  Philippians 4:6, the subject of a previous article, tells us to pray so that we might be anxious for nothing.   Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the focus of this article, tells us to deal with anxiety by putting first priority on God’s Kingdom. 

 

We should not be anxious about life and the material things in life – food, clothing, money, our “stuff.”  Jesus tells us this in the Sermon ( Matthew 6:25-34). It must be important, because He says it twice (verses 25 and 31.) 

 

Why should we not be anxious? Because He’s got us covered – he knows what we need and will provide it. For instance, if He feeds the birds why won’t He feed us? (Note that His idea of what we need, and when we need it, may differ from ours!)

 

But too often we get anxious about these things, lacking faith just like nonbelievers. 

 

 Jesus says that being anxious won’t get us what we want, such as a longer life or greater height, so He said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself.”

 

What, then, should we do instead of worrying? Jesus says: Seek first the kingdom of God, and He will provide our needs.  But what does this mean?

 

God wants us to be doing Godly things – praying, reading the Bible, encouraging others, living in obedience to Him. Concentrating on things eternal and not those that will be gone tomorrow. A priority example of an eternal thing is witnessing to nonbelievers.

 

So we are to focus on His Kingdom. But this does not mean that we can only do “spiritual” things. Many things we do as we fulfill our daily responsibilities are Godly things – for example, caring for our family’s needs, and performing our work in a Christian manner. 

 

Simply, it’s a matter of balance, priorities and attitude in how we spend our time and money (seek ye first!)  For example, how much time do we spend planning and praying about how God would have us minister to others in the weeks ahead, as opposed to focusing on our next vacation or sporting event.  When we’re thinking about others and praying for them, our issues and worries tend to fade to the background

 

The Sermon doesn’t say so but the clear implication is: get your priorities right and the anxiety will be gone! 

 

Philippians 4:6 and Matthew 6:25-34 – the two come together when we pray that God will help us “seek first” His Kingdom.

 

Where your treasure is there will your heart be also, Luke 12:34

 

No amount of anxiety will undo a decision badly made -- ElDevotion