Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thanks for joining today’s study. I was inspired to write “What Jesus Says About Worrying” while watching an episode of “The Chosen” Season Three, where Jesus quotes from Matthew 6:25-34.
However, “inspired to write” is an understatement. Hammer on the head is more accurate since God knows my Jewish mother was a worrier — an Olympic gold-medal team member. I once bought her a decorative pillow with a Hebrew-like typeface that read, “Call your mother - she worries.” That proved the Jewish mother’s “worry gene” is pervasive enough to be branded on merchandise. (Then, I imagined some Jewish mother worrying, “Eeh, my son, the pillow maker. How will he pay his bills?”) Yes, it's THAT bad, and why I spend my life trying NOT to be a worrier.
But whenever I lapse into my genetic predisposition, I think, “Pray instead of worry” and “Trust the Lord Jesus Christ.” Indeed I am not alone since worrying is natural in a world fraught with economic uncertainty, family issues, health problems, accidents, and scams. But since worry is my “factory setting,” I internalize Jesus’s message from Matthew 6:25-34, which helps me rise above. Raise your hand if you can relate.
Now let’s read what Jesus, my “life coach,” says about worry, interspersed with commentary from Matthew 6:25-34:
“‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?’”
Stop right there, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Remember “the birds of the air” the next time you see bird poop on your windshield. Yes, God takes care of them, and you too, but he often makes us struggle while teaching us valuable life lessons. We continue with Jesus’s expert advice for those who are “worry gene” challenged:
“‘Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (I need to tape that verse to my bathroom mirror as a wrinkler reducer.) Moving on:
“‘And why do you worry about clothes?’” (Thank you, Jesus, for asking such an embarrassing question.) He continues:
“See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
Again, “Jewish guilt” kicks in. Does “you of little faith” mean that Jesus thinks I don’t have faith whenever I worry? For the record, I have great faith but still worry (thanks, Mom) but try really hard not to. (Thank you, Jesus.) And He has much more to say:
“‘So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’”
Ahh...of course, the Lord knows what I need, but I worry, oh, I mean pray, about WHEN my needs will be fulfilled. Meanwhile, I juggle worry, prayer, and trust in the Lord while seeking His kingdom. Although some of what I worry about is tied to efforts that glorify Him — I must accept that my timetable does not match His since the Lord resides in an eternal time-space continuum. Therefore, when Jesus says, “all these things will be given to you as well,” he means when God wills it. The fact that God’s time is not Myra’s time is a tough concept to grasp. And guess what? It leads to worry, so be on guard.
Finally, Jesus taught:
“‘Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’”
How comforting. (Joke.) Yes, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Therefore take your worries one day at a time. Pray and trust in the Lord Jesus about today’s worries, and don’t obsess about tomorrow. I have often worried about something “tomorrow” (i.e., the future) that never happened.
Here is some blanket advice if you struggle with worry. Talk to Jesus. Tell him your fears and worries. Remember that worry is for people who don’t know and trust the Lord. Moreover, worry, fear, and doubt are tools of the devil that paralyze you and your dreams — keep you from taking risks, and stifle your growth. Thank God ahead of time for delivering or resolving whatever makes you worry. He has a miraculous way of working things out. As Paul famously wrote:
“And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
So remember this study if your default is set to worry mode. Furthermore, the following verse is taped to my computer and serves as my worry “circuit breaker”:
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah: 32:27).
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. Visit the life-sized Shroud replica in D.C. Contact: MyraAdams01@gmail.com.