22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luke 12:22-34 (ESV)
WE CAN TRUST GOD BECAUSE HE IS SOVEREIGN.
Jesus says anxiety…
1. Blinds me to the goodness of God
2. Promises what it cannot deliver
3. Reveals who I am devoted to the most
1. ANXIETY BLINDS ME TO THE GOODNESS OF GOD.
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
(vs. 22)
Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(vs. 24)
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
(vs. 27)
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
(vs. 32)
Listen to the voice of the Lord speak: ‘I will help you. It is a small thing for me, your God, to help you. Consider what I have already done. What? Not help you? I bought you with my blood. I died for you. Since I have done the greater, will I not do the lesser things for you? —Charles Spurgeon
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”
Isaiah 49:16 (ESV)
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32 (ESV)
2. ANXIETY PROMISES WHAT IT CANNOT DELIVER.
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
(vs. 25)
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
(vs. 22-23)
ANXIETY REVEALS WHO I AM DEVOTED TO THE MOST.
For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
(vs. 30-31)
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Philippians 4:8 (MSG)