Luke 12:22-31 What, Me Worry?
Good morning! Turn with me to Luke 12:22-31, page 871 in the pew Bibles.
Before we read our text, I want to read for you two others.
The first is Philippians 4:6-7 and the Second is 1 Peter 5:7.
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
And now let’s consider Luke 12:22-31.
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Let’s pray.
So, why these three texts? Simply because any time a theme is repeated in Scripture it means it’s pretty important and it is a theme we need to wrestle with.
What is that theme? Anxiety, worry.
You know how much I like to do key word studies, here is our key word: Anxiety, worry.
So let’s get a good handle on what this concept of worrying or anxiety really is.
The Greek word means to have anxious concern based on the apprehension of possible danger or misfortune. The word literally means to divide or tear apart. Our English word, “Worry,” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word that means, “to strangle.”
If you think about it, this is exactly what worry does; it divides our thoughts and strangles our trust in the Lord.
Worry, at its core is self-centered, it is a self-concern for the future based on a lack of trust in the Lord.
I want you to look closely at verse 22, you’ll notice that the words are written in red. 22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…” Let’s stop there.
When Jesus tells us to do something and we don’t do it, what is that called? Sin.
And when He tells us not to do something and we do it? Sin.
So when Jesus tells us, and Paul tells us, and Peter tells us not to worry, or not to be anxious and we still do it, what is that called? Sin. Ok, I just wanted to be clear on that. I don’t like it, but that doesn’t really matter.
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Does this mean that we don’t have to care about anything? No.
Calvin wrote, “If we give proper attention to the words of Christ, we shall fond that He does not forbid every kind of care, but only what arises from distrust.”
Only oppressive care, anxious solicitude which springs from unbelieving doubts are condemned here.
The truth is that by worrying, by being anxious about our lives we communicate to the Lord that we are, or should be, in control, and that the circumstances that we are concerned about would be better if the Lord would just let us have our way. Just give me the thing, or let me have the stuff, and everything will be fine.
What is missing in this type of thinking is perspective. Putting worldly pursuits before the Kingdom, seeking the good of the body but not the soul, seeking provision for this life and not for the next, it is all based in selfishness, pride, and distrust of our Father.
23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
RC Sproul wrote, “If we think food or clothing are the essence of life, we have missed the Kingdom of God.”
Martin Luther wrote, “You turn it exactly round; food is meant to serve life, but life serves food; clothes are to serve the body, but the body must serve clothing, and so blind is this world that it doesn’t see this.”
25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Just like the parable from last week the trouble in this passage has the same source, last week it was greed, this week it is worry, the source is the same: a lack of trust in God.
Worry is truly accusing God our Father of not being trustworthy. It is self-centered at its core. We have to understand that we must not believe that we can secure our lives by worrying. It won’t add a single hour to our life, it can’t add an inch to our height, it will rob us of joy, and it threatens our relationship with God our Father. If you think about it, it threatens our claim that Jesus is Lord.
The Father knows what we need to live, He knows that we need food and clothes. He feeds the birds of the air, He clothes the flowers of the field, you, His children are worth much more than birds and grass!
Verse 30 says that the nations of the world seek after these things… That means the unbelievers of the world. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says, “The believer is thus released from anxious concern or worrying, for his existence is an eschatological existence. This will be shown whether, in conflict with the hostile world, he can rest, not on the strength of his own calculations, but wholly on the Spirit given him from the world to come.
The unbelievers of this world don’t have that same Spirit, they don’t have that same resource, they aren’t going to understand how believers can sleep at night with all that’s going on.
And that may be the most important part of this whole thing. It’s not to show those that don’t know Jesus that Christians don’t ever worry, or don’t struggle with anxiety. Those that know me well know that I struggle mightily with anxiety. But it’s the conscious choice of trusting in the Lordship of Christ over our lives that gives us the strength to endure and will make that anxiety subside.
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Make the Lordship of Jesus over your life your first concern and the anxiety about your life will begin to wither away.
When we are faced with worry or anxiety let’s train ourselves to examine ourselves in those moments. Where is your heart? Are you seeking to control what can’t be controlled, at least not by you? Are you trusting in the Lordship of Jesus, are you trusting the Father with your needs. Is what you are worrying about even a need, or is it just a want, are you focusing on your own good or the good of others?
Where is your heart?
As Corrie Ten Boom put it, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
And, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
