Do not Worry
Bob Lepine carried out a word search on the word. “Worry” in the Bible. He found that most of the time when the word worry is used in the Bible, there are two other words used right before it. They are “do not”. The Scripture exhorts believers over and over again not to worry.
Jesus Christ used the words ‘do not worry’ when he taught on worry. He taught that we should not worry for worldly things. Jesus knew that most of the Christians worry for the worldly things.
So He taught not to lay up for yourselves treasures on earth (Matt. 6:19,20) and should not serve both God and mammon at the same time (Matt. 6:24). After teaching about the transient nature of worldly things, Jesus told them not to worry for life, clothes and food in Matthew chapter 6.
Do not worry for your life: “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?” (Matt.-6:25).
Do not worry for your clothes: “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” (Matt. 6:28-29).
Do not worry for your food: “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” (Matt. 6:31-32). .
Do not worry for your life, food, your body and dress: “Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing” (Luke 12:22-23). “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things” (Luke 12:29-30).
Do not worry for tomorrow: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matt 6:34).
Do not worry for what you will say: “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (Matt. 10: 19-20).
Do not worry beforehand: “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13: 11 ).
Do not worry about how you will defend: “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12). “Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist” (Luke 21: 14-15). . .
Do not worry for the precious things which are lost: “But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s-house?” (1 Sam. 9:20).
Do not worry about the rest: “If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they ‘grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, 0 you of little faith?” (Luke 12:26-28).
In all these teachings on worry, Jesus taught that we should not worry for worldly things. He said that only ‘the pagan world runs after’ such worldly things and God will meet all your needs (Luke 12:30, 31).
Dale Carnegie interviewed Henry Ford a few years prior to his death in 1947. Carnegie expected Ford to show the strains of long years spent in building and managing one of the world’s greatest businesses. Instead, he found Ford healthy and peaceful at age 78. When asked if he ever worried, Henry Ford replied,· “No . I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”
God who cares for us is managing our affairs. So we can cast our worries on Jesus because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Ps. 55:22).
(Dr. C. Barnabas, taken from True Discipleship, Mar-Apr 2008)