The Mistrust Of Anxiety

The Mistrust of Anxiety

Read: Matthew 6:25-34

“Do not worry about your life.”

Matthew 6:25

“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”

—Charles Spurgeon

IN WORD Words of encouragement from the Master are always welcome. The stresses of life come upon us and a brother or sister in Christ reminds us that He is in control. He is sovereign, He knows when the sparrow falls, He numbers the hairs on our heads, He clothes the lilies of the field. He says not to worry about our life, and we welcome the suggestion as an encouraging pat on the back.

But how often do we view this verse as a commandment from on high? It may not carry the force of a “Thou shalt not,” and it may not have the emphasis of a “Go into all the world,” but it is written as an imperative nonetheless. “Do not,” Jesus says, and Paul echoes this injunction in Philippians: “Be anxious for nothing” (4:6). These are our liberating orders. We are told not to do something we hate doing anyway. Why?

IN DEED Consider what our worry says of our opinion of God. When we stress and strain over a situation, are we affirming His providence and abundance? Are we embracing His grace? No, our anxiety reveals our mistrust of God’s sovereignty; it is an emotional slander of His character. We may justify our worry by observing all of the tragedies in the world around us, knowing that such may befall us as well. Yet God promises His sovereignty even over these, as well as His presence with us in the midst of them.

Dare we suggest by our worry that some catastrophe may slip by without His notice? No, “tragedies” befell Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, and others, and God ordained them all for good. All of these surely could have worried, examining their circumstances while going through them. But looking back, we see God’s perfect plan unfolding. Therefore Jesus urges, even commands: Do not worry.