May 10

Anxious Thought

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? — Matt 6:25 BSB

Of course, we are supposed to think in the right sense. Why else were we given minds? It would be like telling us not to walk after God gave us feet, or not to talk after He gave us tongues. We are supposed to use our minds, plan for the future, and make thoughtful decisions. What’s forbidden is anxious thought—worry and fear. As we continue, we’ll see what we should do instead of worrying. For now, let’s focus on the simple truth that we are never to be anxious. This is not a rule with exceptions. It’s not a belief that won’t work in real life. It’s a lesson we are to strive to live by, no matter how full of distractions and worries our lives may be.

But why should we not worry? The “therefore” gives us the answer: “You cannot serve both God and wealth. Therefore, do not be anxious.” So, it seems that anxiety is a sign of serving wealth. We say we are God’s children, but when we fear losing wealth, we become anxious. In reality, this shows that we trust wealth more than we trust God. We feel more secure when we have money in our hands than when we only have God. This means we are trying to serve both God and wealth. Worrying about our needs is essentially a sign of mistrust in our heavenly Father.

If we serve God alone, we should not worry, even if we don’t have food for tomorrow. We should trust in our Father’s love. Money can be lost any day, for “riches make themselves wings and fly away like eagles,” but we can never lose God. Nothing can take away His love or His ability to meet our needs. So, if we trust God, we should never be anxious, even if we have nothing else.