Today’s Bible Reading:
Genesis 18:16-19:38
Matthew 6:25-7:14
Psalm 8:1-9
Proverbs 2:6-15
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
Matthew 6:33 (NLT): “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
The words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33 are within the context of a prohibition to worry. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus commands His followers not to worry three separate times (v. 25, 31, 34).
Fortunately, when He gave us this command, He also told us how to think and what to do to obey it.
Matthew 6:25: He told us that worrying isn’t consistent with our incredible value. For instance, if we worry about food, and that thought consumes our minds, the Lord could essentially look at us and say: “Really? One of God’s children has a mind that is consumed with food? That’s so far below you, friend. There are things much loftier that should be consuming your mind.” It is also significant in this verse that Jesus reminds us of how little we actually need: food, drink, and clothing.
Matthew 6:26 – He told us that God provides for the animal world, even the seemingly insignificant birds of the sky. Why wouldn’t we think that God will provide for us?
Matthew 6:27 – He told us that worrying doesn’t accomplish a single productive thing. So why do it?
Matthew 6:28-30 – He told us that God provides for the plant world. Again, why wouldn’t we think that God will provide for us?
Matthew 6:31-32 – He told us that worrying is unbecoming to a Jesus-follower. After all, even the Gentiles (pagans) worry. A Jesus-follower should be different from pagans. So, don’t follow their example. Don’t worry.
Matthew 6:33 – Jesus gave us a promise. He told us that if we consume our minds with increasing God’s kingdom and living a righteous life, then He will take care of us. Stated another way, when we focus on the things that are important to God, He will focus on the things that are needful to us.
Matthew 6:34 – He told us that life is tough. A biblical understanding of how kingdom principles work is that God gives grace for the trial when we are in that trial, not before the trial. So, don’t worry about our tomorrows because God won’t give us the grace for our tomorrows until they become our todays.
Jesus addressed a lot of issues in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Yet, it is significant that the topic He spent the most time with is worry.
He knows how prone we all are to worry and how destructive it is. Let’s determine to kill the sin of worry and develop a faith that rests in our Father’s care for us.
Matt’s Musings 