God’s Steadfast Love Drives Away Worry!

8th Sunday after Epiphany, 2/27/11
Matthew 6:24-34


God’s Steadfast Love Drives Away Worry!
I. He cares for the least of his creatures.
II. He provides the best for his creatures.


In preparing for this sermon I did a little research on worrying. If what I read is even close to realistic, worrying is a bigger problem than I thought, perhaps even among God’s children.

One report I read only considered the time spent worrying by people in debt. In other words, they worried about money. Take a guess. How much time would you say the average person in debt spends worrying? Are you ready for this? 198 minutes per day! That’s 3.3 hours! That’s 99 hours per month! Even if those figures are double what they actually are, that’s staggering!

It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus would spend time in his famous Sermon on the Mount addressing the fact that we worry. In this morning’s text he warns us about getting ourselves into the impossible situation of trying to serve God and Money. Actually the word he used was “mammon,” a word that comprises all the stuff of life. Look how much time and effort we expend in chasing after the things that make up our lives.

But it doesn’t end there with just chasing after them. While we’re chasing after these things, we worry about them as well. The sanitized way of stating it is that we’re trying to keep up with the Joneses. That mythical family with the last name Jones always seems to have more than we have. So we run after more.

Jesus puts a halt to our headlong dash into materialistic ruin and gets right at the heart of the matter this morning. In effect, he makes us sit down for a moment, looks right into our eyes and tells us, “Stop worrying about these things.” And here’s why. You have a Father in heaven who will certainly show his love for you by giving you what you need.

And what a focus that makes for us who spend far too much of our time worrying. Here’s the answer to the nagging anxieties of life. It’s God’s steadfast, faithful and certain love for us. God’s steadfast love drives away worry. Join me in pondering that amazing love that provides for us daily.

Part I.

Some time ago I heard one of those stories about a child in foster care that just tears at your heart. A fine Christian family brought this 8-year-old boy into their home and immediately tried to make the child feel at home and a part of their family. Early on the first day of his life in their home, the family’s two biological children asked their mom for a snack. Since mealtime was more than 2 hours away, the mother granted their request and poured some snack crackers into 3 bowls, one for each of her children and the foster child. She noticed her two children sat down in front of the TV and began eating their snack, but the foster child quickly went to his bedroom and then returned with an empty bowl and sat down to watch TV. The mom went to his room, wondering how he could have eaten those crackers that quickly. Well, he didn’t. He had hidden them in his dresser drawer. When she asked him why he hid them rather than eating them, he replied that he wanted to save them for later just in case the family ran out of food.

How pitiful! He didn’t yet trust that his foster parents would always make sure he had enough food.

Maybe we don’t hoard food, but we fail to trust our heavenly Father to provide for us. And there’s no good reason for it. There’s no good reason for worry and Jesus points that out repeatedly in this morning’s text.

First, he tells us, “Look at the birds of the air.” When is the last time you saw a sparrow or a robin worrying about where their next meal will come from? They make no preparations at all. And yet God cares for them every day.

Next, Jesus says, “See how the lilies of the field grow.” He’s talking about wild flowers that people do nothing to cultivate. They simply grow according to God’s laws of nature and they’re beautiful! Who hasn’t paused many times to take in the gorgeous sight of a patch of wild flowers? Our loving God has arrayed them in such beauty!

In fact, Jesus even speaks of the way that the Father clothes the grass of the field. Where wood was scarce, ancient people used to gather grass and burn it for heat in their homes or for cooking their meals. In the grand scheme of things, grass is extremely common and insignificant. And yet our Father in heaven provides for it.

So, if that’s the case, why wouldn’t our heavenly Father provide for us? We are the crown of his creation, made in the image of God. He created all things for us to enjoy. Jesus uses the classic lesser to greater argument. If he provides for birds, flowers and grass, won’t he provide for us? And he does. He gives us food and clothing. More exactly, he provides us with the ability and means to acquire food and clothing. Maybe not exactly what we want in the amounts we desire, but certainly enough for us to live. We’re not naked and starving, not by a long stretch.

In fact, we have what we truly need. We have the basics of life—food, clothing and shelter. Our problem is that we’ve had these things for so much of our lives, that we’ve elevated the non-essential things of life to the essential. And then we worry about them.

So pare things down to the essentials. God provides us with them. He always has and always will because he loves us.

God’s steadfast love drives away worry. He cares for the least of his creatures. Surely he’ll care for us.

But worrying just seems so natural for us. And really, what’s so wrong with it? After all, it doesn’t hurt anyone else. That’s true. But worrying trashes the very First Commandment. The First Commandment not only forbids us from having any other gods, it also requires us to love and trust in the only true God. Trust him. Daily. But instead we worry. Daily. Why? It’s part of our sinful nature. That sinful nature refuses to take God at his word when he tells us that he loves us and will provide for us. But how can we be so sure? This time, let’s argue from the greater to the lesser. The greatest thing God ever gave you was the gift of his Son, Jesus. God sacrificed his Son for you, for your forgiveness and eternal life. If that’s true, and it certainly is, then won’t he also provide what we need for daily living? Surely he will and he does because he loves you. There’s the solution to worry. God’s steadfast love drives away worry.

Part II.

Our God once came to King Solomon and offered to give him whatever he asked for. In essence, he wrote him a blank check and allowed him to fill in the numbers. If God did that for you, or if he offered to grant you three wishes, what would you ask for?

Perhaps your mind is racing. A mansion. A luxury car. The fattest bank account the world has ever seen. International fame.

Then again, maybe your sense of Christian decency would compel you to ask him for things that money can’t buy. World peace. The end of world hunger and poverty. A cure for cancer. Those would indeed be some noble requests.

But your heavenly Father has already given you gifts far more precious and lasting than all of those combined. As a sinner, what’s your greatest need? Without a doubt, it’s the forgiveness of sins. No amount of money in the world can buy forgiveness for a single sin, and yet your heavenly Father forgives all your sins free of charge for the sake of Jesus, your Savior. And along with forgiveness he offers you a new life as his own dear child by faith in Jesus and the gift of eternal life in heaven.

Those gifts aren’t something you hope to possess some day; your heavenly Father tells you that you already possess them by faith in Jesus. They’re yours, no strings attached. In fact, that’s what your loving heavenly Father is all about. His highest will is to make you certain that those great gifts are yours right now.

In fact, he wants you to be so sure of them that he tells you that your name is written in the Book of Life. That’s God’s way of assuring you that nothing can separate you from his love and from receiving the gifts of his love for you. He’s written your name in his Book of Life and the ink he used was the blood of his dear Son, Jesus, our Savior. In our reading from Isaiah earlier, your God assured you that even if the impossible would occur with a mother—that she would forget her child—he will never forget us. He has called us by name. We belong to him. He’ll bless us in his presence forever.

So why would we worry about anything? God’s steadfast love drives away worry. He provides the best for his creatures.

We made a short list of those best gifts that God gives us—forgiveness of sins, life as his child and eternal salvation. About those gifts Jesus says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Every day we have a choice to make—what will be our focus for that day? Jesus answers that question for us with those words. Instead of chasing after the blessings of this life, which won’t last, make your focus your spiritual life with your God. Make Christ the center of your life. Daily trust in him for your forgiveness and eternal life. Look to his cross as the eternal guarantee of God’s love for you. And then trust him to provide everything else that you need in life. After all, as Jesus stated elsewhere, what good is it to gain everything the world has to offer but lose your own soul? There’s no need to worry about such things. God’s steadfast love drives away worry. He provides the best of blessings for his people. That’s what you are by faith in Jesus—one of God’s own people. Trust him to bless you and don’t waste another moment worrying. Amen.