“But 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! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:30-33
This section of the Sermon on the Mount has been a go-to for me lately. The context is related to worry and making money an idol in an attempt to not have to worry. If we have enough money we can get all we need and no longer worry, right?
Well, not exactly, because the moment we begin serving the idol of money by constant striving and jealousy and anxiety to get what we “need,” we stop serving our true Master, Jesus Christ. He says in verse 24 that we can’t serve Him and money, we have to live our lives in ultimate pursuit of one or the other.
Too often, I fall into the money camp. If I can just earn a little more, find a great side hustle, save more for retirement or college for my kids, then I’ll feel just that little extra measure of security that I need to really let go of my fear and follow God will total abandon. It seems silly just writing it, because I know in my heart that’s not how this works. That “security hole” will never be filled by anything but God himself, and only when I have oriented my life to be totally dependent on Him.
I don’t need anything from this world. I don’t need the security that money or family or a home or friends or a job provide. Those are all, every single one of them, temporary. They will not survive the coming of the Lord. Only Jesus remains, and all my security must be found in Him.
And guess what, we’ll have what we really need. There will be enough food, shelter, clothing, etc., to accomplish what it is He has for us to do. But it might not be enough for us to live without being hungry, or to live comfortably in our homes until we’re 90.
Jesus endured the wilderness for 40 days. There very well may be a wilderness or two that we have to endure during our lifetimes. That doesn’t mean that God isn’t providing for what we need. Why? Because we don’t know what we need. The only thing we should “know” is that we need Him. Other than that, we are just a vapor. We are dust. We are glorious creations mirroring the image of God, but He is the true Glory. We only reflect Him. We live at His discretion. We are created and not the creators.
So check your heart when you feel like your needs aren’t being met. Build your definition of “needs” from the Bible and not from the world. There is only one need of our hearts, and He is the only one that can give us the security and peace and satisfaction we desire.
Think Reformed 