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“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matt 6:27 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
We all worry
We worry about something or someone at least some of the time. And some of us have perfected the art and skill of worrying.
When I was a young believer and newly married with a child on the way, I had a worry chair. I spent a lot of time in that chair. Correction—I wasted a lot of time in that chair. All my worrying accomplished nothing.
Worry doesn’t resolve a thing. In fact, it robs us. Worry has a subtraction effect on our life. Worry demands our full attention and inhibits us from doing anything positive.
Worry is defined as—mental distress or agitation. The origin of the word comes from the idea of being strangled or constricted or squeezed. Other words for worry include anxiety, distress, disturbed, nagging, and vexed.
Simply put, to worry is counterproductive and it suffocates our life. It doesn’t just rob of us of time, it adds to whatever anxiety and stress we already have.
You may already know this from your own experience and seeing its effect and impact on your life and the life of others. And yet, we still worry. Why?
Insights to consider
The simple reason we worry is the recognition of how little control we have over life. Thousands of things on a given day could happen to disrupt our life directly and indirectly.
We could get sick, lose our job or source of income, lose someone we love, or lose our home to name a few things. A natural disaster may strike or a pandemic breaks out, as currently with the coronavirus.
Given enough time to consider all that could go wrong, we have plenty of things to think about to work ourselves into a frenzy of worry.
But why do we feel the need to be in control over other things, other people, and other aspects of our life?
We lack trust. Our faith is limited and weak. Why is this so? Because we try to occupy the role of God in our lives and even in the lives of others we care about or feel responsible for.
We also lose perspective in life. We focus on things—elements within our life that may be important but are not life itself.
I was only freed from my worry chair when I learned to trust in the Lord. On the wall facing my worry chair was a beautifully illustrated scripture given to us as a wedding gift.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Prov 3:5-6 NKJV)
As I learned to trust in the Lord without trying to figure everything out on my own, I experienced more and more freedom from worry.
I stopped sorting out how I could handle everything on my own or bring my life into a controllable place. I realized what I could not control and committed these things to the Lord.
I entrusted my life and everything in it to God. But this was not an overnight experience. It became a continuing commitment to trust. This is the essence of true faith.
True Faith
The first step towards genuine trust is to not worry. Obvious, perhaps, but necessary to accept and understand for trust to develop.
This admonition, “Do not worry…,” can be taken as a command. Not a demand. It is an exhortation to not do one thing so we can be free of something else that is negative.
When a young child is told not to touch something hot, it’s for their benefit. We don’t want them to get burned. At present, my youngest grandson is learning this. He’ll repeat “hot” over and over when hot food is set before him. He reinforces this knowledge to himself and looks to us to affirm it.
Jesus repeats this admonition three times here. He emphasizes it for our own good.
In the original language (Greek), it literally says—be not anxious. The KJV says it this way, “Take no thought….” It’s a very direct statement, not a suggestion.
Worry and trust are mutually exclusive. It’s impossible to do both at the same time. If we are worrying, we’re not trusting. But the converse is true. When we trust God, we don’t and won’t worry.
Jesus tells us not to be anxious or worry about what we eat or drink or wear. He gives us the example of the birds and how God cares for them.
Some may wonder about the poor in desolate and dangerous regions. It’s a reasonable concern. But here are two things to consider.
First, regardless of any person’s situation, each of us has a choice to trust or worry. God is able and has demonstrated His willingness to provide what we need even in miraculous ways.
Secondly, those of us who trust in the Lord bear some responsibility to do what we can to help care for those in need. We can do this either in person or vicariously through others who extend care to those in need (Matt 25:40).
Jesus asks three questions we need to answer for ourselves.
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Are you not much more valuable than they [the birds of the air]?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
These are all rhetorical questions where the answers are understood—yes, yes, and no.
When we can give honest answers to these questions for ourselves, we gain the perspective needed to begin to trust the Lord and not worry.
As we begin to trust the Lord more and more, we will be set free from the weight of worry.
“Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?”
Reflection—
Worry and trust are mutually exclusive. When we trust God, we don’t and won’t worry. As we begin to trust the Lord more and more, we will be set free from the weight of worry. Trusting the Lord is an everyday commitment. Sometimes it may be a moment by moment commitment.
Prayer Focus—
Learning not to worry by choosing to trust the Lord is a process of faith. When you find yourself struggling with worry, ask the Lord to help you set your mind and heart on Him. Ask God to remind you of His goodness and guide you to the promises in the Scriptures of His care and provision.
Devo Scripture Text
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
“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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
(Matthew 6:19-34 NIV84)