Recently, I shared an elevator ride with two men. One must be in his early sixties and the other much older. The older one said that since he clocked a certain age, he had decided to take life easier. He was no longer willing to run around just to make ends meet. He chose to resign from living anxiously. There is a form of anxiety that arises when people think in terms of sustenance. The question is this: Must we wait until old age before letting go of anxiety? From our text, Jesus wants us to discard anxiety pretty much now and not at a later time in life.

Jesus wants us to discard anxiety pretty much now and not at a later time in life…If He gave us the more important things, the lesser ones are guaranteed.

Jesus’ teaching on anxiety spanned from verse 25 to verse 33. In this portion of the Bible, He attacked anxiety while teaching His disciples. In that discussion, He presented three key reasons why we should not worry about sustenance. Firstly, worry does not change anything. Secondly, God’s tender care over smaller creatures should keep us at rest that He will take care of us. The birds of the air receive their rations without stress. The lilies in the valley have annual makeovers. God’s tender care makes this possible for them; and He can do more than that for us who are made in His image. Finally, according to the law of priority, life holds greater value than food, and the body is more important than clothing. If He gave us the more important things, the lesser ones are guaranteed.