In our daily meditations, we are looking at what Jesus taught in His famous Sermon on the Mount. The Lord now turned His attention to living with faith in God:
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27).
True peace within is knowing who you are and who owns you. The best remedy for worry and anxiety is to cast all your cares on Christ, with a deep understanding that He cares for you. When we know that the Lord Jesus owns us and we understand the immense riches we have been given in Christ, this is the most effective way to combat worry and chase anxiety and fear from our minds.
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:28-34).
When our treasures, our valuable possessions in this life, are focused only on how much we can accumulate, then stress, fear, and worries can infect our eternal souls. Before I became a Christian, my focus was to be a successful fisherman, and have a decent home and a family. By the time I was 21 years of age, I was privileged to have my own commercial fishing boat, my own home, a lovely car, a motorbike, and a good-sized bank account. I guess people envied me and wanted what I had, but I was never inwardly satisfied. At the age of 23, when the Lord came into my life, everything changed. I became concerned for those who did not know the God who had begun to turn my life around. When the challenge came to me to leave my fishing occupation and follow Christ, then came the thoughts—what would I do? How will I provide for myself? What will I wear? How will I pay the mortgage? Those are the kinds of things that creep up on a person and bring fear, worry, and anxiety to one's life as they did to me. At this stage of my life, I thank God that I gave up my fishing boat, my house, my girlfriend, and my bike and followed Christ to labor in His harvest.
Somehow, I don’t think Jesus wore the Armani shoes and the richly ornamented robes of the day. The Lord uses the example of the wildflowers on the hillside beside the crowd, how Solomon was not dressed better than the flowers of the field. They did not spin their wool or cotton to make their beauty; they didn't strain or stress themselves in their growth. Worry can siphon off our hope, but we are to remind ourselves that God has seen the end from the beginning. He views each of us in the present moment and knows what decisions we make, and He is able to change our future accordingly, so don't allow your choices to hinder what God is calling you to do. The Lord is well able to provide for you and me. He is already there in the future with your provision for what He has called you to do. Thank God for Jesus, Who has modeled to us a lifestyle of freedom from fear and of stepping out in faith. Keith Thomas
This meditation is from the complete study found at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/engsermon/5.-laying-up-treasure-in-heaven
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