Matthew 6:19-34 NASB
¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
²²The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
²⁴No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The Cure for Anxiety
²⁵For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
²⁷And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
²⁸And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
³¹Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³²For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
³³But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Devotional
Living out of the hand of God is a relaxed and rich life.
Everyone needs money and goods.
After all, we need to eat and have a place to live.
We work for that and also take care of our future.
Jesus Himself worked for many years as a carpenter (Mark 6:3).
But money and property have a strange charm.
You’re going to trust it.
Money gives you a sense of security and peace.
We can handle it. We expect it from our treasures on earth.
Money becomes a god in which we trust (Matthew 6:21,24).
Because everyone is exposed to this temptation, Jesus comes to our rescue.
He gives us the right view of money, goods and God.
We must clearly see that the sense of security that money gives is false (cf. 1 Timothy 6:9,10). After all, property is always shaky. Its value is very uncertain and can even be taken from us (Matthew 6:19).
Our trust, therefore, should not be on money, but on God (Matthew 6:20; Compare 1 Timothy 6:17-19). Because He is our Heavenly Father!
His treasures are at our disposal.
Indeed, everything depends on the right view.
Although our eye does not give out light, but receives light, it is precisely because of this that it enables our body to move (Matthew 6:23a). By ‘what is light in you’ (Matthew 6:23b) we again mean our eyes. If they don’t function, we are completely in the dark.
So let our eyes and hearts be focused on God.
He even takes care of the birds and the flowers, how much more will He care for us (Matthew 6:25-30)!
But such a completely carefree life is not possible, is it?
We can’t lightly assume that everything will turn out all right, can we?
No, but just as the birds and the flowers only do what is expected of them, so too we humans must stay within our borders.
▪︎ Do not try to do what you cannot (Matthew 6:27).
▪︎ Do not fret as if there is no God.
The roles are as follows: we are there for the LORD and He is there for us (Matthew 6:31-33). Not in money or good, but in God is our security, also for tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).
Question
- How does 1 Timothy 6:7,8 show you that only in the LORD is true security?
Prayer Suggestion
- Ask God to help you to not be divided inwardly, but only serve Him.
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