29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Believer, God has another sweet word for us today! Jesus wants us to understand, without a doubt, that anxiety is foolish. It is a waste of His precious gifts of both time and energy profiting us nothing. It is an intrusion into God’s dealings with us and demonstrates a lack of our faith in Him. Worry is the attitude of the pagan world which is consumed with the temporal material things of this life rather than the eternal spiritual realities. Jesus tells us to “Quit!”
The small phrase “set your heart” has huge applications for those who desire to be kingdom seekers rather than worldly thinkers. I am reminded of the verses penned by Paul to the Church at Colosse:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col 3:1-4 (NIV)
Remember, what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount:
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:21 (NIV)
We are to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly sinful nature seeking to be like Christ. When He is our life, the promise of Scripture is that when He appears we also will appear with Him in glory. The word rendered “glory” is from the Greek word “Doxa” and has the most wonderful meaning according to the New Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: “Glory, honor, wealth, splendor, prestige, respect, renown, fame, distinction, notoriety, recognition, approval. Outward splendor, grandeur, pomp, elegance, magnificence, beauty, excellence of appearance, impressiveness, brilliance, illustriousness, eminence; it is that form, aspect, or appearance of something which catches the eye, attracts attention, or commands recognition.” I’m all about that, any other takers out there? It is so easy to get caught up in the drudgery of the daily that we need to remind ourselves what we are to be living towards.
The sweetest words of our verses for today, in my opinion at least, are the words: “your Father knows”. Our Father is intimately acquainted with everything about us and all of our ways. It is knowledge in an absolute sense – He knows us penetratingly. I am reminded of David’s words in Psalm 139:
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Psalms 139:1-6 (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV)
Believer, do we not think He knows what we need? Jesus Himself tells us that He came to give us life and give it to us abundantly!
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)
The life Jesus came to give us is not constricted in anyway but overflowing! Abounding in every sweet promise, filled with the peace that passes all understanding, guarded always with His eye upon us, strengthened with the achieving power of the precious Holy Spirit, equipped with the full armor of God, infused with the joy of the Lord as our strength – I ask again, do we not think He knows what we need? We must trust Him to be our sufficiency and our strength. As we entrust our lives to Him, He will never disappoint us. Like Paul confidently tells Timothy:
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Tim 1:12 (NIV)
“If you can catch the vision of what the days ahead hold in store for you in My great kingdom, you will gain a whole new perspective, so that as you view the present, transient scene, its true dimension will come into focus in proportion to the whole panoramic picture.” Frances J. Roberts
“O My little ones, how precious you are to Me – yes, you are the apple of My eye, I will guard you from harm. Never let the fears that are common to the world creep into your hearts, for you are not of the world, My children, and you need not fear the things that plague the minds of the ungodly.” Frances J. Roberts
Praise Him!