Matthew 6:31

Thursday, 23 January 2025

 

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Matthew 6:31

 

“Therefore, not you shall be disquieted, saying, ‘What we shall eat?’ or ‘What we shall drink?’ or ‘What we shall don?’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of how God enrobes man. Because of what He does, Jesus next says, “Therefore, not you shall be disquieted.”

 

God has ordained how things are. He has invested man with ability, and He has provided the earth with abundance. Taking these things together, man can feel confident that he has what he needs to have sufficiency. Fretting about what might be is pointless.

 

Those things that we cannot change are not going to change through anxiety attacks. Therefore, there should be no reason to get disquieted, and there is no reason for us to be “saying, ‘What we shall eat?’ or ‘What we shall drink?’ or ‘What we shall don?’”

 

This takes the reader right back to verse 6:25 –

 

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

 

Rather than focusing on these earthly, temporary things, man should consider the Source and Giver of these things first. Having faith in His provision and how He has orchestrated things should be where our trust lies. The birds go out each day and find what they need. When they find it, they use what He has provided, a beak, for example, to obtain it.

 

Flowers are sown into the earth. They come up according to His plan and adorn it with beauty. The flower doesn’t consider what is coming tomorrow. It simply exists as a beautiful adornment of the earth.

 

As God has placed man on the earth, based on how He has orchestrated everything else, surely He must have given man what he needs to exist as well. As we are a part of this ongoing cycle, we should accept that this is so, trust Him to continue to provide, and not fret about what lies ahead.

 

Life application: There are people all over the world. Man is found in the hottest, driest places, the most barren and cold areas, sweaty heated sauna-like places, along coasts, and in the mountains.

 

Wherever man has gone, someone in the traveling party has said, “This would be a great place to live!” And so, he settled in and became accustomed to the area and what it provides. Others said, “No way, Jose! I am moving on. Who would ever want to live here?” And so, onward he went until he found a place suitable to his desires.

 

From there, the earth was fully inhabited. But everywhere people have settled, they have adapted to the location because God set up the earth to give them what they need. Some things are more abundant in one place but lacking in another. However, the things that are necessary for man to survive have been found and exploited.

 

This is how God has provided and continues to provide. We adapt because God has given us the ability to do so. When a place is too inhospitable, man moves on. In this manner, the earth is filled with humanity.

 

As this is so, and as the one thing that is truly necessary but which is lacking except when it is brought into man’s various places of dwelling, shouldn’t we be willing to get it out to others. What is this thing? It is the gospel of Jesus found in the word of God.

 

Man exists around the globe because God has made it possible for him to do so. But man exists without salvation unless we are willing to share what God has done. Let us help turn the temporary existence of each man on earth into an eternal existence in the presence of God. May we be a part of filling this otherwise unfilled necessity.

 

Glorious God, You have provided life and abundance for us to dwell in Your presence. You have also provided the way that we can do so for all eternity. However, that way will not be available to others unless we are willing to make it happen. Help us, Lord, to share the message of Jesus to those who so desperately need it. Amen.