Count Your Blessings – Matthew 6:25-33
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
What does the passage say?
V. 25-30 Do Not Worry – Eugene Peterson uses an expression by saying, “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship” (v. 25 The Message), we don’t have to worry about how we should provide for our lives. Because Jesus says, we are valuable than birds who doesn’t worry about how to survive, since the heavenly Father feeds them. Even the lilies of the field are beautifully grown under God’s protection. And by this Jesus asks, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” (v. 27 NRSV)[
V. 31-33 Therefore Jesus says, don’t get consumed by worrying about life and rather focus your reliance on our Lord. He says, “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met” (v. 30-33 The Message).
What does this mean to me/ us?
We live in a world that makes us worry. The horrifying news from the media and advertisement about ‘having more’ and ‘not being satisfied with what we have,’ intensifies the discontentment of life. It contributes to losing our focus on fixing our eyes on to our Lord.
Therefore, as we live in this world, we need to constantly focus our eyes on God. Praying is a powerful tool to help us focus on our Lord. When we focus on God, understanding who we are, and transferring all our worries to thanksgiving and petition, we will be able to see how God works in our lives. Guard your hearts in prayer and see how God works. It might help if you start memorizing the word of God from Philippians 4:6-7)
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NRSV).
Lord, we focus our eyes on you. Let us not fix our eyes onto the worries that the world presents, but rather focus on your love and peace, which surpasses all understanding. And Lord work in our lives today.
In Christ Name, Amen.
What are your thoughts?
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