An Answer to Anxiety
One of the more quoted passages from the Sermon of the Mount is Jesus leading us away from anxiety through a few beautiful metaphors in nature. He reminds us that the birds of the air do not consume themselves in worry, nor do the flowers of the field. And finally, as an answer to our anxiety, he says:
“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 6:33-34)
A life of trusting God is a life with anxieties, but not a life consumed by it. Life is full of scary moments, hard days, and uncertain futures, all of which cause anxiety from time to time. We are not commanded to stop planning for our future or fail to work as a provision (see Proverbs 24:33-34 as an example). But we are commanded to give that which we have to God first, most primarily our concerns, plans, and anxieties – to him. He asks us to not be anxious, to trust in him and know that seeking him will ultimately take care of our needs, even our most basic ones at times. And in another way of thinking of it, anxiety creates a need for further care. To quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship, he shares the following about anxiety:
“Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of all anxiety. If our hearts are set on them, our reward is an anxiety whose burden is intolerable. Anxiety creates its own treasures and they in turn beget further care. When we seek security in possessions we are trying to drive out care with care, and the net result is the precise opposite of our anticipations. The fetters which bind us to our possessions prove to be cares themselves… The only way to win assurance is by leaving tomorrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for today.”
When we become anxious - whether it is related to possessions or not - it causes deeper care for the wrong things. But the assurance in this is that God provides for us. If we trust him today, he will give us what we need.
