Take No Thought for Your Life

2018-03-30

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Jesus told us here that He will provide our most fundamental physical needs: to eat, drink and be clothed. Let us explore His words:

  1. Physical needs are not as important as spiritual needs. Jesus told us, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25). He told us elsewhere that “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). If He provides every spiritual need for us, it is nothing for Him to provide our physical needs. If He provides for the needs of animals, how much more for us? Matthew 6:25-30
  2. God is in control, not you or me. Just as we cannot increase our height by our own volition, we cannot do anything apart from Christ. God provides the food, drink, and clothing we need. Just as He is the one who feeds the birds and clothes the grass, He does the same for us. Matthew 6:27
  3. The world seeks after food and clothing. Jesus tells us that “after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” Luxurious food and clothing is big business in this world. For us, we need to keep food and clothing simple, and “having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:8). Matthew 6:32
  4. The prerequisite of His provision is seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Christians that are walking with God and seeking Him should never worry that they will lack food or clothing. Matthew 6:33
  5. We must take one day at a time. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow; we need to be concerned about today. Jesus told us previously to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Matthew 6:34
  6. Notice what He does not promise. Jesus does not seem to promise us shelter. Later, He told us, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). If Jesus spent a lot of time without any permanent home on this earth, how much more will His servants expect times without any home?

If we serve God, we should not ever worry about His provision. This is an area where we must trust God completely. When we worry, we lack faith in His word as spoken in this passage, and we are not trusting Christ for His provision of our physical needs.