Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Facing Fear Biblically Part 2- Trusting God’s Faithful Care

Click here to see the last post in this series, “Facing Fear Biblically Part 1 – Our best life isn’t now”

Click here to see the post prior to that: “Returning to Church During COVID – Understanding Fear”

While walking with my boys yesterday, I heard the birds singing in a grand chorus. Their unrehearsed song testified to the caring provision of God. Though I could not listen to their testimony undisturbed (my four boys were with me, and rarely did a second go by in which no one was talking), I couldn’t help but remember God’s faithful care. This is exactly what Jesus wants us to reflect on when we listen to the birds, but we must have ears to hear it.

My goal in this post is to help us develop such ears – the ears of faith. I want to encourage us to trust God because he cares for us. We need to see God’s loving and sovereign care and deal with our own weak faith if we would face fear biblically. To help us with this, I’ll look at the principles found in Matthew 6:19-34.

In verse 25, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.” He tells them not to be anxious about things that are central to sustaining their lives – food, drink, and clothing. We might think that isn’t a big deal because the grocery store is usually stocked (except for toilet paper and handsanitizer). But we must recognize we are dependent when it comes to our basic needs too. Furthermore, the principle applies to our modern concerns like the Corona Virus. “Do not be anxious about your life, how you will avoid getting sick.”

God’s Sovereign Love and Wisdom

We trust a person because of his or her character and our knowledge of that character. If my neighbor is a thief, I won’t trust him in my house. If the person I pass in a grocery store aisle is honest, but I don’t know her, I won’t ask her to house sit for me. A person’s character and our knowledge of that person is the foundation for trust.

God is trustworthy because of who he is. Is he in control of all that we face? Does he love us as his children? Is he wise, not wasting one ounce of suffering in training us? The answer is yes to all! Therefore, when we find ourselves anxious, we must refocus our attention on the reality of who God is. We must set ourselves to the task of knowing who he is. Jesus provides two object lessons about God’s faithful and sovereign care to help us do just that.

God Feeds the Birds

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? (v. 26).

We have a bird feeder, and there are bird traffic jams when it is full of seed. When it is empty (due to a pesky squirrel), we don’t see as many birds swing by the fly-thru. But, I still hear the birds chirping in the trees. God continues to provide for them, and compared to a person, made in his image, a bird is not valuable. If God shows such care to the insignificant bird, how much more will he show care towards you? If God sovereignly provides for birds (they don’t even plan ahead much), won’t he provide for you?

God Clothes the Lilies

And why are you anxious 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 arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you (vv. 28-30).

When you look at a field of wildflowers, you are seeing God’s kindness. He didn’t have to make creation beautiful (seeds could have been designed to come by other means). Yet, he clothes the grass with beautiful lilies – which are more wonderful than a garment fit for a king. Furthermore, this elaborate goodness pops up in fields where lawnmowers will run the next day. If God has that attention to detail regarding short-lived flowers, surely he controls the details of your life and will cloth you with what you need.  

Jesus’s point is not that we don’t have real physical needs or that we won’t experience hardship or death. He says that our Father knows we need food and drink and breath (v. 32). The point is that God is sovereign, good, and wise. Therefore, he is trustworthy.

Why We Are Anxious: Little Faith

Our problem is that we have “little faith” (v. 30). We get so focused on situations that we forget who God is and that he cares for us. One cause of this is a failure to think rightly about who God is (hopefully the above section helps with that).  But another reason exists – our misplaced priorities. Jesus’s command to not be anxious is based on him calling us to value God above all else.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious (vv. 24-25 italics added).

Money is a major contender for our attention because of what it can provide – comfort, protection, and enjoyment. Money isn’t a bad thing, but it isn’t our ultimate priority. God does not share the throne with money or any other good gift that he gives.

This is true even of our physical lives. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v. 25b). Food and clothing are essentials in life, but our life is about more than even that. It is about knowing God.

If we lose sight of that priority, we will have a lot to be anxious about because everything else will eventually fade. Money can disappear in a stock market crash, and the illusion of health can vanish with a diagnosis or car crash. One day, everything except for God will leave us because death removes any hope of continuing in this fallen world forever.

Therefore, if I serve good health or money as if it is my ultimate source of happiness and life, I will not serve God, and I will be anxious. On the other hand, if I value God more than even my own physical life, I can enjoy his gifts and still be content when he chooses not to give me those gifts. To battle anxiety and trust God, we must “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (v. 33).

Growth Assignment

God’s trustworthiness and our increased trust in him result in lives that glorify God and which have less anxiety. However, we are in the habit of forgetting God’s character and valuing (trusting in) other things more than him.

Here are a few things you can do over the next week to cultivate a growing faith in God.

  1. Read Matthew 6:19-34 each day for five days and note five things that stand out to you each time. You might also try to think of other passages that reinforce or illustrate the principles you see in Matthew 6.  
  2. Go for a walk once a day and look at the birds and plants. Pray to thank God that if he cares for the birds, he will certainly care for you. Such a mindset helps us “not be anxious about tomorrow” (v. 34).
  3. Begin a “God’s care for me” list. Write out a couple of things from your past when God showed his care in clear ways (for you or others). Don’t forget the spiritual provision. Sometimes we focus only on physical needs and forget that our greatest needs are spiritual.
  4. Write out and think over Matthew 6:27 - “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Try to call that to mind when you are anxious and then direct your mind to God’s care. 

No comments:

Post a Comment