merimnaó: to be anxious, to care for

This word means to be so disturbed about material

Matthew 6:25-34 needs that we distrust God and are distracted from
New King James Version faithfully doing His will.

Take no thought (Greek me merimnao) means “Do not

Do Not Worry be anxious.”

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than
clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall
we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Explanation:
Matthew 6:25–34 concludes this part of the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus' teaching about
anxiety.

Matt. 6:26–32
Jesus illustrates His point by referring to objects in nature that were immediately at hand:
- the birds of the air,
- the flowers of the field, and
- the grass of the field.
The key point of this passage is found in the phrases Are ye not much better than they? (v. 26)
and shall he not much more clothe you? (v. 30).
The Bible teaches that God is the Creator and sustainer of nature.
Worry and anxiety are related to the length of one’s life in the phrase add one cubit unto his
stature (v. 27). A cubit is a measurement
- This reference is not to a person’s actual height but to the length of his life. of 18 inches.

Jesus was saying that we cannot add the smallest measure to our life span by worrying.

- This state of anxiety is related to having little faith (v. 30).

- Faith is total confidence in the provision of God.
- Worrying (anxious care) is the direct opposite of faith.

Page 1 of 3
 Greek - zeteo
indicates a continual
or constant seeking.
Matt. 6:33, 34.
This portion of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by the statement seek ye first the
kingdom of God.
How do we know if we’re truly seeking God’s kingdom first?
There are questions we can ask ourselves.
- “Where do I primarily spend my energies?”
- “Is all my time and money spent on goods and activities that will certainly perish, or in the
service of God—the results of which live on for eternity?”
The contrast between the spiritual and the material is again emphasized.
- The believer is to seek first the righteousness that is characteristic of God’s kingdom and
then all these things (material things) shall be added to him.
- When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He
provides.
We need not even worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (v. 34).
- This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled,
without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.
How do we Overcome Worry?
1. To Overcome Worry, We Must Focus on Our Father’s Providential Care
- The Bible says Christ sustains all things by his word (Hebrews 1:3).
- Everything is totally dependent upon God.
- He gives man life, breath, and everything else (Acts 17:25).
- Even our moment-by-moment breaths cannot happen apart from God’s grace.

2. To Overcome Worry, We Must Recognize Our Great Value to God

- Birds are not made in the image of God, nor being recreated in his image (2 Cor 3:18).
- They are not sons and daughters of God—co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).
- God made man his chief in creation.
- We must constantly study the Bible to know our value.
- We must learn everything that God says about us and everything that he promises to
us.
- We must constantly pray to understand our value.
- To God we are his reward—we are his joy and passion. We are special to him.

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty
one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet
you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (ESV).
- Our God enjoys us so much he sings over us and wants to quiet our
fears with his love.
3. To Overcome Worry, We Must Recognize How Unproductive It Is
- And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Matthew 6:27.
- Christ says worry will not make us live longer. In fact, it might help us die early.
- Worry does not benefit us physically, mentally, or spiritually.

Page 2 of 3
 4. To Overcome Worry, We Must Pursue God’s Promises
- Every time a person comes to know Christ—they become part of the kingdom.
- Christians must make evangelism their primary endeavour whether at work, church,
home, or abroad.
- They must constantly pray for people to know Christ and take advantage of
opportunities to witness and invite others to church.
- They must make their life attractive by being righteous and not living a compromised
life, which just pushes people away from God.
- When Christians live like the world, the world doesn’t understand why they
need to follow Christ.

5. To Overcome Worry, We Must Focus on God’s Grace for Today

- It must be noted that Christ says today will have “trouble.”
- The fact that Christ calls us not to worry is not because believers are exempt from
hardship. We have no such promise.
- In this world, we will have “trouble and suffering” (John 16:33).
- We live in a sin-filled world—we will hurt people and they will hurt us. Because of
man’s sin, God’s curse is on creation—we experience earthquakes, flooding, drought,
and other natural disasters.
- The curse affects our work—there is pain and toil in our daily labor, and it’s often
unfruitful. We get a failing grade on a paper, though we worked our hardest to
complete it. Our work projects give us mental stress and at times fall apart. Through
pain and toil, we will provide for ourselves on this earth (Gen 3:17-18). There will
always be some trouble in the day, and some days will have more than others.
- However, amidst the troubles, God promises to give us grace for the day.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we

are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every
morning; great is your faithfulness.”
- As we wake up in the morning and seek his face, grace is distributed.
- As Israel in the wilderness only received enough bread for the day, God often does the
same with us.
- He often gives grace for the step that we are on, but not the next step—only grace for
the day.
Summary:
Jesus taught that our focus should be shifted away from this world—its status and its lying
temptations—and placed upon the things of God’s kingdom.

Page 3 of 3