S.O.T.M. Worry: It's Causes and Cure [Matthew 6:34]

Brian Larkin

The sermon on the mount • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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S.O.T.M. Worry: It’s Causes and Cure [Matthew 6:34]

Stand for the reading of the word of God [Matthew 6:34]

Here in verse 34 our Lord brings to a conclusion the subject that we’ve been dealing with in this entire section from chapter 6:25-34 and dealing with the problem which is created by our relationship to the things of this world. It is a problem that confronts us all. It does so in different ways as we have seen. Some people are tempted to be ruled by worldly possessions in the sense that they want to hoard and amass them.

Others are troubled by them in the sense that they are worried about them; it is not the problem of superabundance in their case, but the problem of need. But, essentially, according to our Lord, it is one and the same problem, the problem of our relationship to the things of this world, and of this life. As we have seen, our Lord takes great trouble to work out the argument with respect to this matter. He deals with both aspects of the problem and analyses both.

Here, in this verse, [v.34], He brings this consideration to an end and He puts it in this particular form. Three times over He uses this expression, ‘Do not worry’. It is so important, that He deliberately states it like that three times, and in particular with regard to the question of food and drink and clothing; and He works out the argument, you remember, with regard to the matter of things of this world. Here is the conclusion of the whole subject, when you read this verse in its context, you almost have a sense of surprise that our Lord should have added it.

He seems to have reached such a wonderful climax in the previous verse, verse 33, where He has concentrated His positive teaching in the memorable words, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ That seems like one of those final statements to which nothing can be added, and at first sight the verse at which we are now looking [v.34] seems to be almost an anti-climax. You cannot imagine anything higher than, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.’ Be right about that, says our Lord, and then you have no need to worry about these other things; they shall be added unto you. You are to be right with God and God will look after you. But then He goes on to say, Do not worry about the tomorrow—the future: for tomorrow shall worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’

We can be quite certain that this is not an anti-climax; there is some very good reason for this addition. Our Lord never utters words merely for the sake of doing so. Having given us this wonderful positive teaching He returns to it and puts it in this negative form. He ends on the negative and that is, at first sight, what constitutes the problem. Why did He do that? The moment you face the fact and begin to question it, you will see at once why our Lord did so.

It is because this is really an extension of His teaching. It is not mere repetition, or just a summary; it is that, but it is more than that. In adding this He carried the teaching one step further. So far, He has been looking at this problem as it concerns us in the immediate present;

verses 25-30 had to do with not worrying about earthly things because we have a heavenly Father who cares for us.

verse 31-33, had to do with not worrying because of the new family we are apart of in Christ…i.e. the body of Christ, fellowship of the saints, Christians. Both of those had to do with not worrying in the present...

Now here, in verse 34, He takes it on and covers the future also, don’t worry about the future. He extends it, and applies it, to cover the whole of life from present to future. And here, I think He shows His profound understanding of human nature and of the problems with which we are confronted in this life. You will not find anywhere a more thorough analysis of worry, anxiety, and the anxious care that tends to kill man in this world, than you find in this paragraph which we have been considering in detail in Matthew 6:25-34.

In this final look at this section on worry we’ll look at worries causes and cure. First...

Worry is a definite force and we must understand what a tremendous power it is.

We so often tend to think of the condition of worry as one which is only negative, a failure on our part to do certain things. It is that; worry is a failure to apply our faith. But the thing we must not forget is that worry sometimes has a positive aspect… for example we should worry about our children and their well-being, about our elderly parents or grandparents, etc. Even our Lord doesn’t just say don’t worry and move on, He gives us reasons for not worrying…so a sense of worry is inevitable in man.... but here’s the problem, worry often becomes that which comes and grips us and takes control of us. It is a mighty power, an active force, and if we do not realize that, we are certain to be defeated by it. If worry cannot get us to be anxious and burdened and wore down by the state and condition of things that are actually confronting us, worry will take this next step, it will go on into the future.

We get this right? Perhaps we’ve even been the one who has tried to deliver others from worry by having the, “just don’t worry about it” conversation. You tell someone not to worry only to discover you have been over come by worry and anxiety and the things of this world. Even if you come to the realization of the unnecessary nature of worry you still find worry hanging on. We may want to find relief from worry, but worry doesn’t want relief…worry persists after us. But pastor, it sounds like you’re personifying worry. You’re talking about worry as if it’s a person. Well, isn’t that what our Lord did?

He said ‘tomorrow will worry about its own things.” That is personalizing worry; He is regarding it as a power, almost a person, that takes hold of you, and in spite of yourself keeps arguing with you and saying one thing and then another. It leads to a condition in which one almost desires not to be relieved and not to be delivered from worry: and it often works in the particular form we are considering together now.

When you have brought out all the answers and given a full explanation of the folly of worry, then you say, ‘Ah yes, that is all right for now; but what about tomorrow? what about next week? what about next year?’ And on and on it goes, into the future. In other words, if worry cannot work up its case on the facts it has before it, it does not hesitate to conjure up facts. Worry has an active imagination, and it can envision all sorts and kinds of possibilities. It can envision strange outcomes, and with its terrible power and activity it can transport us into the future and into a situation that is yet to come. And there we find ourselves worried and troubled and wore down by something which is purely imaginary and has not even happened.

I think we all know something of what I’m talking about…you ever had confront someone about something? And you almost visualize and play out the entire conversation before it even happened? Anyone ever done that? Why do we do that? Most of the time the real conversation doesn’t go anything like we imagine it would. Worry brings enough disruptions to the table itself, but we also have an adversary, the devil, who loves to prey on our over anxious minds as well. We are fighting a tremendous power in worry and against a powerful adversary in the devil.

How does our Lord deal with this problem of worry about the future?

First, remember that this teaching is in context of His previous teaching. Remember it’s never a good idea to take any text out of context. Look at it in context… Don’t worry about the future…why? Because we have a heavenly Father who cares for us. The Father cares for the birds of the air…how much more will he care for us His children? Two, don’t worry about the future…why? Because of the family we belong to in Christ. If any one be in Christ he is a new creation…he is born again…he has been adopted into a new family, with other blood bought believers in Jesus Christ. This family looks different from the Gentiles, those non-believers not of the family of God. That’s the context, even though those deal with present worry they apply to worry in the future as well.

Our Lord then takes the argument further and shows the folly of being anxious. Don’t worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about its own things, sufficient for the day is its own trouble. i.e. If the present is bad enough as it is, why go to meet the future? To go on from day to day is enough in and of itself; be content with that. But not only that. Worry about the future is so utterly futile and useless; it achieves nothing at all. We are very slow to see that; yet how true it is. Indeed we can go further and say that worry is never of any value at all. This is seen with particular clarity as you come to face the future. Apart from anything else, it is a pure waste of energy because however much you worry about the future you cannot do anything about it. All the thought of potential catastrophes are imaginary; they are not certain, these bad things we conjure up in our minds may never happen at all.

Indeed, the result of worrying about the future is that you are crippling yourself in the present; you are lessening your efficiency with regard to today, by worrying about the future. In other words, worry is something that is due to an entire failure to understand the nature of life in this world. Our Lord seems to picture life like this. As the result of the Fall and sin there is always a problem in life, because when man fell, he was told that he was going to live and eat his bread ‘by the sweat of his brow’. He was no longer in Paradise, he was no longer just to take the fruit and live a life of ease and enjoyment. As the result of sin, life in this world has become a task. Man has to labor to live and must meet trials and troubles. We all know that, for we are all subject to the same tribulations and trials.

The great question is, how are we to face them? According to our Lord, the vital thing is not to spend every day of your life in adding up the grand total of everything that is ever likely to happen to you in the whole of your life in this world. If you do that, it will crush you. That is not the way. Rather, you must think of it like this. There is, as it were, a daily quota of problems and difficulties in life. Every day has its problems; some of them are constant from day to day, some of them vary. But the great thing to do is to realize that every day must be lived in and of itself and as a unit.

Here is the quota of problems for today. Very well; I must face that and meet it; and He has already told us how to do so. I must not go forward and tack tomorrow’s quota on to today’s, otherwise it may be too much for me. We have to take it day by day. You remember how our Lord turned upon His disciples when they were trying to dissuade Him from going back to unfriendly Judaea to the house where Lazarus lay dead? They pointed out to Him the possible consequences, and how it might shorten His life. Remember what His answer to them was ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day?’ I love that, You have to live twelve hours at a time and no more. Here is the quota for today; very well, face that and deal with that. Do not think of tomorrow’s problems. You will have tomorrow’s quota tomorrow, and not today.

Do you see just how practical this is? We are almost in the realm of common sense, even on a human level…but fortunately we are not just on a human level but our Lord and Savior is teaching us these vitally important lessons. Our blessed Lord is teaching us...

The cure for not being crippled and burdened with worry for the future.

These truths can be gleaned from our Lord’s teaching. If you want to go through life without crippling yourself and burdening yourself and perhaps losing your health and the control of your nerves, these are the cardinal rules. Do not carry yesterday or tomorrow with you; live for today and for the twelve hours you are in.

Interestingly, most men who have been successful in life have been characterized by this wonderful capacity for forgetting the past. They have made mistakes. They say, ‘I have made mistakes and I cannot undo them. If I meditated upon them for the rest of my life, it would make no difference. I am not going to be a fool, I will let the dead past bury its dead.’ The result is that when they make a decision they do not spend the night worrying about it afterwards. On the other hand, the man who cannot help referring back keeps himself awake saying, ‘Why did I do that?’ And so he saps his nervous energy, and wakes up after poor and broken sleep feeling tired and unfit. As a consequence he makes more mistakes, completing the vicious circle of worry by saying, ‘If I am making these mistakes now, what about next week?’ The poor man is already down and defeated.

Here is our Lord’s answer to all that. Do not be foolish, do not waste your energy, do not spend your time worrying over what has passed, or about the future; here is today, live to the maximum today. But of course we must not stop at that level. Our Lord does not. We must take this statement in the whole context of this teaching. So, having reasoned it out on a natural line, and having seen the essential wisdom of that, we go on to see that we must learn not only to rely on God in general, but also in particular. We must learn to realize that the God who helps us today will be the same God tomorrow, and will help us tomorrow.

This is perhaps the lesson which many of us need to learn, that not only must we learn to divide up our life in this world into these periods of twelve or twenty-four hours; we must divide up our whole relationship to God in exactly the same way. The danger is that, while we believe in God in general, and for the whole of our life, we do not believe in Him for the particular sections of our life. There many of us go wrong.

We must learn to take things to God as they arise. Some people fail very grievously in this matter because they are always trying to anticipate God; they are always sitting down, as it were, and asking themselves, ‘Now I wonder what God is going to ask me to do tomorrow or in a week’s time or in a year? What is God going to ask of me then?’ That is utterly wrong. Never try to anticipate God. As you must not anticipate your own future, do not anticipate God’s future for you.

Live day by day; live a life of obedience to God every day; do what God asks you to do every day. Never allow yourself to indulge in thoughts such as these, ‘I wonder when tomorrow comes whether God will want me to do this or to do that.’ That must never be done, says our Lord. You must learn to trust God day by day for every particular occasion, and never try to go ahead of Him.

There is a sense in which we commit ourselves to God once and for ever; there is another sense in which we have to commit ourselves to God every day. There is a sense in which God has given us everything in grace once and for ever. Yes; but He gives grace to us also in parts and portions day by day. We must start the day and say to ourselves, ‘Here is a day which is going to bring me certain problems and difficulties; very well, I will need God’s grace to help me. I know God will make all grace to abound, He will be with me according to my need—“as thy days go, so shall thy strength be”.’ That is the essential biblical teaching with regard to this matter; we must learn to leave the future entirely in God’s hands.

Take, for instance, that great statement of it in Hebrews 13:8. The Hebrew Christians were passing through troubles and trials, and the author of that Epistle tells them not to worry, and for this reason: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ In effect he says you need not worry, for what He was yesterday, He is today, and He will be tomorrow. You need not anticipate life; the Christ who takes you through today will be the same Christ tomorrow.

He is changeless, everlasting, always the same; so you must not think about tomorrow; think instead about the changeless Christ. Or consider the way in which Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 10:13: ‘There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape’. That is certain with regard to the whole of your future. There will be no temptation that will come to you but that God will always provide that way of escape. It will never be above your strength; there will always be the remedy.

We can sum it all up by saying that, as we learn in wisdom to take our days one by one as they come, forgetting yesterday and tomorrow, so we must learn this vital importance of walking with God day by day, of relying upon Him day by day, and applying to Him for the particular needs of each day. The fatal temptation to which we are all prone is that of trying to store grace against the future. That means lack of faith in God. Leave it with Him; leave it entirely with Him, confident and assured that He will always be going before you. As the Scripture puts it, He will ‘prevent’ you. He will be there before you to meet the problem. Turn to Him and you will find that He is there, that He knows all about it, and knows all about you.

In summary

Remember who you are in Christ. You have a heavenly Father who cares for you. You have a new family in Christ and are different from the world. And the future is in God’s hands.

Worry is not grasping on to and applying our faith. i.e. walking day by day in faith

A large part of faith consists of refusing anxious thoughts. Take every thought captive

I conclude with a story that applies...

There was a man walking down the road with a large sack of potatoes over his shoulder, it was large and quite burdensome, placing a heavy load upon the man.

A farmer drove by on his tractor pulling a trailer. The farmer stopped and asked the man with the heavy sack of potatoes over his shoulder, “Hey would you like a lift?”

The man with the potato sack over his shoulder replied, “that would be wonderful, thank you very much sir.”

A little ways down the road the farmer looked back at the man sitting on the trailer and noticed he still holding the heavy burdensome sack of potatoes over his shoulder.

The farmer laughed and said to the man, “I gave you a lift to help you out, why are you still holding the potatoes over your shoulder?”

The man replied, “Sir, I am truly grateful for the ride and I really appreciate the help, but I didn’t want to put undo weight upon the trailer.”

[pause]

How many of us are just like the man with the potato sack over his shoulder..only we are carrying our worries and anxieties over ours? Our Lord asks us this morning… why are you still carrying that burden? Cast all your anxiety/worry upon Him for He cares for you.

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