βGo to now, ye that say, TodayΒ orΒ tomorrowΒ we will go into suchΒ a city, and continue there a year,Β and buy and sell, and get gain:Β Whereas ye know not what shallΒ be on the morrow. For what isΒ your life?β¦For that ye ought toΒ say, If the Lord will, we shallΒ live, and do this, or thatβ (JamesΒ 4:13-15).
The desire of Jamesβs heartΒ was that his readers would humbleΒ themselves before the LordΒ and not be presumptuous whenΒ they planned for the future, norΒ to worry about it. We might callΒ it worry-free planning! We allΒ probably know someone whoΒ gets worried when they donβtΒ have something to worry about!Β Believers also struggle with thisΒ problem, but the Scriptures state,Β βBe careful [anxious] for nothingβΒ (Phil. 4:6). In our contemporaryΒ language we would say, βDonβtΒ worry about anything.β TheΒ Greek root word behind the termΒ βcarefulβ here isΒ merimna, whichΒ means to pull in different directionsΒ or a distraction. This is exactlyΒ what worry will do to you: itΒ will tear you apart, both emotionally and physically. Worry alwaysΒ dwells on theΒ futureΒ in regard toΒ what may or may not happen.Β It mulls over every worst-caseΒ scenario imaginable until you areΒ tied in knots. We might say it thisΒ way: the past belongs to the ages,Β the present belongs to us, but theΒ future belongs to God.
Worry is aΒ sin!Β It focuses onΒ the future, which is divine ground.Β The only suitable way to deal withΒ it is to find a biblical solutionΒ to the problem. Thankfully, theΒ Scriptures provide for us the keyΒ to living a worry-free life. ThisΒ age-old problem that can be tracedΒ back to the Fall has a simple solution.Β In fact, the antidote to thisΒ venomous attack is the same inΒ every age. We find it noteworthyΒ that the Lord Himself dealt withΒ this matter as He prepared theΒ disciples to carry out the GreatΒ Commission.
βTherefore I say unto you, TakeΒ no thought for your life, Β what yeΒ shall eat, or what ye shall drink;Β nor yet for your body, what yeΒ shall put on. Is not the life moreΒ than meat, and the body thanΒ raiment? Behold the fowls of theΒ air: for they sow not, neither doΒ they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedethΒ themβ (Matt.Β 6:25,26).
We are creatures of habit!Β We like the security of having aΒ roof over our heads and knowingΒ where weβre going to have dinnerΒ tonight. The same was true ofΒ the disciples, with this exception:Β the Lord had uprooted them fromΒ their comfort zone and transplantedΒ them in His field of service.Β When He called them, theyΒ left their families and livelihoodsΒ to follow Him. At first it seemedΒ the right thing to do, but the moreΒ they thought about their decision,Β it left them with a feelingΒ of insecurity.
Sensing their apprehension,Β the Lord said, βTake no thoughtΒ for your life.β βTake no thoughtβΒ is another way of saying, βDonβtΒ worry about what may or mayΒ not happen!β If GodΒ can provide for the birds that flyΒ above, which neither plant norΒ harvest, surely He is able to supplyΒ the needs of His laborers. WeΒ must bear in mind that, if GodΒ foreordained the Cross in HisΒ determinate counsel (ActsΒ 2:23),Β and the Lamb was slain beforeΒ the foundation of the world (I Pet.Β 1:19,20) in accordance with HisΒ foreknowledge, surely He knowsΒ everyΒ need of the disciples, not toΒ mention ours, in advance (Matt.Β 6:32).
βTake therefore no thoughtΒ for the morrow: for the morrowΒ shall take thought for the thingsΒ of itself. Sufficient unto the dayΒ is the evil thereofβ (Matt.Β 6:34).
This passage is the LordβsΒ solutionΒ to the problem of worry. TheyΒ were not to concern themselvesΒ withΒ tomorrowβsΒ circumstances,Β simply because those were beyondΒ their control. It is natural toΒ be concerned, but they werenβt toΒ allow their concern to deteriorateΒ into worry that consumed themΒ because it would only serve toΒ disrupt their service for Christ.Β Our Lord speaks of two days:Β tomorrow, a reference to the future,Β which belongs to God, andΒ today. While it is impossibleΒ simply to turn off unwarrantedΒ concern, they were toΒ redirect it.Β βSufficient unto the day is the evilΒ thereof.β In other words, thereΒ were enough troubles to deal withΒ in any given day without concerningΒ themselves withΒ tomorrow.Β The answer to the sin of worry isΒ to trust in God andΒ focusΒ on resolvingΒ the problems that are facingΒ you today (Phil.Β 4:19). source
