“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
Jesus concluded His remarks on the futility of anxiety (6:31-34). The fifth reason for not allowing anxiety to control us is that it is characteristic of unbelief and the sixth reason is that it is characteristic of unbelievers.
6:31
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Jesus challenged His followers not to live lives of anxiety. Anxiety manifests itself by questions indicated by “What.”
6:32
For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
Unbelieving Gentiles live in the world of anxiety about temporal things. Believers do not function like the lost. “Seek” indicates aggressive pursuit of financial issues autonomous from God.
This is the sixth argument against worry—anxiety is characteristic of non-believers.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Believers have a heavenly Father who meets our needs. God is more aware of our needs than we are. If He functions as a Father, He will meet our needs. Since He knows everything at every point, His capacity to meet our need is unlimited.
PRINCIPLE:
Anxiety about material wealth is to live like the lost.
APPLICATION:
It is unreasonable for a believer to establish the goal of anticipating every need. We would never know whether we have accumulated enough funds in our investments. “Who knows whether the market will collapse?” Obsession with material needs displaces our true purpose in life.
It is a pagan (Gentile) mode to live in anxiety about the necessities of life because it discounts God’s capacity of unlimited provision for our lives.
