God’s command for us to not worry is not only for our own good, but the good of others as well. This is because worry is a poor witness to other people. If we're always anxious or worried about something in our lives, we become a slave to fear and no longer are behaving with the confidence that we should have as a child of God. “It is well with my soul” no longer applies when we consistently showing the opposite by being stressed and anxious about the unknown. When we're strong and courageous, it inspires others to do the remarkable. But when we're weak and cowardly, it destroys our witness and creates a barrier for other people to believe.
The primary reason that worry is a sin is that worry is an insult to God. In Matthew 6:25-27, Jesus says in the Sermon of the Mount: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
When we are anxious, we demonstrate to God and others that we do not trust that God will care and provide for us as he states he will in Scripture. God always keeps on his promises, and we can trust with complete certainty that he will provide and deliver what we need, even if it isn’t how we were expecting.
Reflection/Discussion Question: Where or when in your life do you most struggle with feeling anxious?
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