FOCUS Day 5 | Matthew 6:24-33

DAY FIVE | MATTHEW 6:24-33

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

“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? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

When was the last time that you were worried? I know that I have struggled with this many times over the course of my life. In fact, if I am honest, there are times when I have faced circumstances in life where I have felt like it was irresponsible not to worry.

In this passage taken from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to the heart of those who had gathered around Him, urging for them to reject worry as a way of thinking about their lives. While He acknowledges that there are basic needs in life, like food and clothing, He reminds us that our lives should not be focused on getting those needs met.

Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

But what about when such-and such happens, or when I-don’t-know-how the-other-thing will work out? I am so thankful that Jesus speaks to us in these moments and calls us to a different way of thinking. In His kindness, God tells us that He knows our frame, and remembers that He formed us from dust (Ps. 103:14), but then reminds us that we are so much more than that to Him – more than the flowers of the field, and more than the birds of the air.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Our value as children of a loving and caring Heavenly Father is the foundation for one of the simplest invitations in all of Scripture: Don’t live a life filled and fueled by worry, but seek (actively look for) the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of the things that you would worry about will be added to you.

While the words from Matthew 6:33 are simple and clear, they are not so easy to live. After all, the value system of the world around us tells us that we have to figure out how we can take care of ourselves. There are many times when worry masquerades itself as wisdom, but Jesus clearly comes against this by calling us not to think like Gentiles (those who don’t know God).

Do not worry… Your heavenly Father knows your needs… Seek first…

What does it mean to seek first the Kingdom of God? Seek means intentionally and actively look for. First means before you do anything else. And the word Kingdom speaks of royal rule and reign. A current way of speaking this verse could be:

Before you do anything else, intentionally and actively look for the royal rule and reign of God! This is message of how different the royal rule and reign of God from the ways of this worlds system is something that Jesus spoke about all of the time. In Mark 1, Jesus came preaching for people to repent, or change the way they think, because the Kingdom of God was at hand.

As we focus our eyes on the life of Jesus and actively look for His rule and reign first, we will be forced to deal with many areas where the ways that we have been trained to think by the culture around us seem exactly opposite of the Kingdom of God. I am praying that the light of His face will give your heart courage and confidence to trust Him with all of your heart, and not lean on our old understanding. As you practice this way of looking at Him, He will change the way that we think and transform us from the inside out.

Don’t allow worry to fill and fuel your life, focus on Jesus and His royal rule and reign instead.

JOURNALING QUESTIONS // LINK TO PLAYLIST

Examine – How would you describe what this passage reveals about the life of Jesus?

MindShift – Is there anything about what you read in this passage that challenges the way you think about what it means to follow Jesus?

Prayer Focus – Is there any prayer that you can pray to co-operate with Holy Spirit to see your mind renewed to become more like Jesus?