Always Faithful: Why Do We Worry?

Matthew 6:30-31

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 are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines worry as “mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.” And while that is a great definition, it hardly describes the feeling and anxiety that accompanies worrying. Just ask anyone who struggles with worry and they will tell you that it can wreak havoc and terror on a person’s mind and emotions. But that is not all. According to medical experts, worry can have a significant effect on your health causing stomach problems, sleep problems, high blood pressure, and a host of other physical problems.

As someone who often struggles with worry, I can testify firsthand that nothing good comes from worry. In fact, the more I think about it, worrying over our life challenges goes against the faithfulness of God. Matthew 6:30-31 reminds us that our faithful God will clothe us, feed us, and provide for our daily life needs. And even so, we still struggle with worry.

For me, even when seeing the faithfulness of God over my life, I still worry.

Let me tell you what I mean. I was a senior in high school in 1981 and like most seniors, I was trying to decide just what to do about college. Candidly, I was sure I couldn’t afford college, and I genuinely felt frustrated. God had called me to ministry and I really wanted to train at a Christian college. In fact, I wanted to go to Union University in Jackson, TN. I can tell you that I did a lot of worrying. My friends were headed off to college and many of my close friends were headed to Union. I was consumed with worry over what to do.

I am grateful for my mom and dad. I am grateful for their testimony of faith and trust in God but to be honest with you, I know that this decision was worrisome for all of us. I had forgotten something important. I had forgotten that our God is a God who provides. I had forgotten that it is our God who feeds the birds, clothes the fields, and provides for His children.

A few days into the new year of 1981, my mom and dad received a phone call from our pastor. He asked if he could drop by our house that evening and speak to all three of us. We had no idea what he wanted but gladly received him that evening. What follows will forever be a testimony to me of God’s faithfulness.

The pastor shared with us that someone, still unknown to us even today, stopped by his office and wrote out a check for four full years of tuition for me to attend Union University. You read that exactly right. Someone anonymously paid for me to attend college at Union and train for ministry. And that is exactly what happened. I graduated that year from high school and the following fall of 1981, I enrolled at Union University. God was gracious to me and allowed me to graduate from Union four years later, in the spring of 1985. And it all happened because God was faithful to provide a way. God was faithful to speak to someone and lay on their heart for me to attend college and pursue ministry. I will forever be grateful to that person, although I don’t know their identity. And I will forever be grateful to God for providing just what was needed.

Over the last few weeks, you have read stories of God’s faithfulness. God is faithful when a family loses their twins. God is faithful when a young woman loses her husband. God is faithful to guide us to salvation, and God is faithful even to provide a young teenager a place to go to college. In a few weeks, this series on faithfulness will come to an end. However, God’s faithfulness never ends. He is always faithful.

Have you found yourself worrying over something urgent and important in your life? You may be worrying about finances, health, or the future. Even in the midst of a storm, you can put your worries aside and never pick them up again. Why? Because our God is faithful!!!