Anxiety displaces hope and is a state of misplaced confidence. This is a truth that explains a whole lot about life. When we worry about something we are so tied up emotionally and physically that we are at a stand still. We can’t seem to get anything done; we are frozen in place, stuck to watch the world pass by. It is a frustrating existence. Jesus teaches how this misplaced confidence can be turned around. In Matthew 6:25-34 He states three times “do not be anxious.” Now, if Jesus says anything three times in this short of a time span we need to pay attention to what He is saying.

The cure for worry is not more money, and it is certainly not more things. The cure for worry is a renewed confidence in God’s sovereignty. Genuine happiness cannot be founded upon the circumstances of our life because too many times those circumstances are terrible and what we would call “insurmountable.” No, our happiness must be rooted in a belief of God’s sovereign care for us. This type of happiness is Christ-treasuring and God-centered.

When we renew our confidence in a God who both created and rules the universe with a gracious and kind hand then we will trust Him with the details of our everyday life. If we see and believe that God takes care of the birds that fly through His creation (v. 26) and the flowers that bloom on His hillsides (v. 28), then will He not take care of us, the ones He created in Him image?

I love how Paul ends his first letter to Timothy,

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)

Even those who seemingly “have everything” must not trust what they have, but who they have. This hope is rightly placed hope that will not disappoint.

Grace & Peace,