Luke 12:22-32
22 And He said to His disciples, “For
this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as
to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what
you will put on. 23 “For life is more than food, and
the body more than clothing. 24 “Consider the ravens, for they
neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God
feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 “And
which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s
span? 26 “If then you cannot do even a very
little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 “Consider
the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 “But
if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you?
You men of little faith! 29 “And do not seek what you will eat
and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 “For
all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows
that you need these things. 31 “But seek His kingdom, and these
things will be added to you. 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock,
for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Worry, like greed is another sin that sprouts naturally in
our fallen hearts. We all have a desire
for self-preservation. We care very
deeply about both the quality and the quantity of our lives. This care can easily turn into anxiety when
circumstances seem to threaten our life or our comfort. Jesus wants to replace His follower’s fear
with faith. Gratitude and faith must be
cultivated in our hearts as means of combating greed and worry. This passage is very similar to the teaching
of Christ on the sermon on the mount.
The wording is a little different and the context is different. This is another incidence in which Jesus
taught the same truths at different times in different ways. This is not a case of different authors
recording the same event in different ways.
It is different authors recording different events in which Jesus taught
similar truths.
INSTRUCTION ABOUT PROHIBITING ANXIETY: Jesus has just finished speaking about the
dangers of greed and pride over possessions.
In some ways He continues the same subject by instructing His hearers
not to be anxious over their possessions.
Jesus simply states that we are not to worry about the basic provisions
of life such as eating, drinking and the clothes we wear. These are the basic necessities of life
without which we will be unable to survive.
Jesus is not minimizing the importance of these things; by mentioning
them He is actually doing just the opposite.
He is saying these things are so important that we should trust God to
take care of them instead of worrying about them ourselves. God has given us great purpose in life, which
is to serve Him, worship Him and represent His kingdom on earth. These things should be the focus of our
efforts. It is hard not to worry about
the basic needs of our bodies, but God calls us to leave that worry behind and
trust Him.
ILLUSTRATIONS ABOUT PREVENTING ANXIETY: Besides instructing
His disciples not to be anxious, Jesus gives three illustrations that should
prevent worry in our lives. The first is
an illustration about ravens or birds in general. The birds have no ability to work in order to
multiply their food supply. It is not
that birds are lazy, they must fly around in search of food, make nests and
carry their food to their offspring.
They can work very hard, but they don’t have the ability to plant seeds
or farm worms. They are dependent on the
Lord to make provision for their food.
The second is about human longevity.
We are not able to increase our life span by worrying. One of our greatest fears is death, but death
is inevitable. If we exercise and eat
good foods, we might be able to extend our lifespan in some way, but worry will
never do this. Worry is an exercise in
futility and has a much better chance of reducing our lives than extending
them. The final illustration is the
lilies that are dressed so beautifully, but they don’s make or purchase their
clothing. God dresses them so
beautifully. They have a very short life
that is, by comparison with our lives insignificant, yet God lavishes beauty on
them. Jesus wants us to understand that
we can trust God because He is more than capable of providing all our needs and
has demonstrated His ability and His care for all His creatures.
INFORMATION ABOUT PRACTICING ANXIETY: God’s perspective on
things is much different than our perspective.
We see worrying about our food and clothing as just a natural way to
live. God sees it as a lack of
faith. The truth is that it is very
common for men to be anxious about their physical well-being, in fact the
majority of people do just that.
However, the majority is not always right. Jesus does not call us into a relationship
with the Father so we can remain just like everyone else. The nations of the world worry about food and
clothing, but God calls us to be a light amongst the nations; not be just like
the nations. The conclusion of the
matter is that God know all about our needs.
He created us to require food to sustain our bodies. Eating is a pleasure God created us with the
ability, even the necessity, to enjoy.
He takes great delight in meeting those needs. He expects us to trust in His goodness and
rest in His care. When we trust God, our
natural response will be to promote the kingdom of God. Our primary concern in life should be
considering how we can best promote the kingdom of God. There is no need to fear that we will be
abandoned or neglected when we stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on
Him. We may suffer during this life
because this world is a hash and sinful place.
But the God who delights in loving us and loves to see our delight takes
great joy in giving us the eternal kingdom.
We have a glorious and delightful future. If we are trusting God for a future kingdom,
we can easily trust Him on this present earth.
APPLICATION: Confess worry and anxiety as sin and stop
doubting Gods desire or ability to care for our basic needs. Observe God’s faithful provision in nature
and recognize the futility of worry.
Trust and rest in the provision of God because that is how believers
live. Make the kingdom of God and how we can promote it effectively on earth
the priority of our thoughts and efforts.
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