Rock & Refuge

Despite the many reasons people may have to worry - their future, their happiness, their health - in Luke 12:22 Jesus outrageously commands his disciples not to worry. Elyse Fitzpatrick compares such a comment as similar to asking someone to grow a neck like a giraffe; it’s impossible![1] And yet this passage not only explains the reasons why anxiety is unnecessary, it reveals how foolish worry really is. 

In this passage Jesus first responds to a man who is concerned with earthly matters, using the parable of a man equally anxious over earthly things (13-21), before explaining to his disciples why they are not to worry about this life (22-34).

The passage of the rich fool is significant in understanding what Jesus has to say about not being anxious. Jesus is talking to a huge crowd of people, mostly simple workers, fishermen, peasant women and farmers.[2] Jesus has been talking to them about their attitude towards him and who they are most afraid of, God or other people, when a man enters who immediately reveals what he is most anxious over, his share of his inheritance. Money was an issue then as it is today and it is into this situation that Jesus speaks about the rich fool. 

Jesus describes a man worrying about the future, busy building bigger barns to ensure he had plenty of grain for years to come. Like so many people, the uncertainty of the future was the cause of real anxiety. He is like all those who are driven by the fear of losing their job and not having enough money stored up for the future.[3] Those plagued with worry over their future, their children’s future, setting their sights higher and higher to ensure their anxieties will not become a reality, always pursuing a better job or another promotion. The man was desperate for future security, like those who crave the best security system and find peace in the pile of insurance documents. But there was another reason for his plans, he wanted to enjoy the comforts of life, he said, ‘...I’ll say to myself...take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ He wanted an easy life, he wanted food and drink; he wanted happiness and peace. He wanted all the things most people are anxious about today, longing for ease and comfort in life. His fears and worries would be shared by so many modern believers and yet God labelled him a fool because he worried about all the wrong things. It is at this point that Jesus turns to his followers and unveils the foolishness of anxiety.

Jesus begins by saying, ‘Do not worry about your life’ and although the immediate context emphasised food and clothing it certainly extends into every aspect of life and all the many causes of anxiety. It would surely be equally appropriate to say, ‘Do not worry about your health, your children, your happiness, your home, your singleness, your marriage, your reputation etc…’ 

But Jesus describes an anxiety filled life as completely incompatible with a life that truly treasures him; being rich towards God means not worrying about the things of this world. And yet, Christians who trust in the Lord still tend to worry. Why? They have forgotten the character of God and the many certainties of their relationship with him, choosing instead other treasures.

This passage restores the focus to the Lord, as Jesus provides five reasons why his followers need not worry about the things of this life. 

1. God’s children are valuable to him

Luke 12:24 says; ‘Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no store room or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!’ Jesus says look at the birds, they have no crop and barns like the rich fool, and yet God feeds them. Ravens are birds that are not particularly attractive or special in any way. Yet for thousands of years, ravens have remained because God delights in feeding them and considers them valuable creatures. Jesus says, ‘You are so much more valuable to me than birds!’ When God created mankind ‘in his own image’ he said; ‘be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over ...the birds in the sky...’ As image bearing creatures, people are considered so valuable to God and so surely it would be irrational to not trust that he will provide for every basic need. Just like a child, confident and secure in his mother’s love for him, would not worry that she will forget to cook his dinner, so too God’s children can be certain of his commitment to them. They can trust that they are more valuable to God than the birds he tenderly cares for and therefore they need worry. To worry is to doubt God’s proven love.

1. God is in control and we are not

Jesus says in 12:25-26, ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’ When people worry they are often driven to action. The motorist who worries about running out of petrol stops to fill up. The host who worries about not having enough food buys extra in advance. People take control of their worry and the worry fades away, but sometimes they worry because they cannot control it. 

Powlison says, ‘Anxiety and Control are two sides of one coin.’[4] The desire for control has a significant impact on anxiety since there is a fear that life will fall apart with a lack of control. This greater fear leads to exhaustion because of the realisation that control cannot be fully grasped. This downward spiral of control and anxiety leads to physical symptoms which again, are often out of the sufferer’s control.[5]

Powlison says of this; ‘Worriers act as if they might be able to control the uncontrollable. That’s something central to the problem of worry. It’s the illusion that we can control things.’[6] The person who worries about their health might try to take control by: going to the doctors, taking pills and eating the right food; but the problem may not go away and so they worry because they are not in control. Jesus reveals how people cannot change the situation through the example of time. Jesus says worrying cannot add a single hour, something he describes as a ‘very little thing.’ For human beings, it is impossible to have control over time; for Jesus, it is the smallest of things. It seems a confusing verse because for people to have that level of control over time is a big thing as it would mean control over life and death. That is the point, for Jesus, this is a little thing because he does have control. 

This anxiety and desire for control at heart, reveals the subtle problem of a lack of trust that God is in control and a failure to believe that is a good thing.[7] 1 Chronicles 29:11 says; ‘Yours is the mighty power and glory and victory and majesty. Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything.’ God is in control, and when his children try to be in control of every aspect of their lives they are trying to take the place of God, when it is actually for their good that the majestic, powerful and glorious one is in control, not them. Worry reveals pride and a reluctance to trust God who is in control.

When they try to be in control, this also reveals a likeness to the enemy, the devil, who wanted the authority over God. Whilst God gives people responsibility, it is always in submission to him who is over all creation.[8] Fitzpatrick says; ‘Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, this God-given desire to control has been warped. Now we seek to control people’s hearts, the outcome of events, and our future. We do this because we’re afraid of what might happen if we just trust and obey.’[9] 

This constant desire for control only leads to anxiety, therefore God’s children need to know that he is in control and they are not. They are valued and cared for by a God who has control over time. People cannot change the map of their lives, but God is in control and knows exactly how things will happen, where things will happen, when things will happen and why. They can and must release control over their own lives and trust in his control.

However, for some people the issue is not a failure to trust God’s control but a failure to trust that he is good, which leads to the third reason to not worry.

1. God will provide for even those with little faith

Jesus says in 12:27-28; 

‘Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith!’ 

God not only provides for the raven, but he dresses the temporary grass in the field with colourful wild flowers. And this is not because of anything the flowers have done; they have not laboured for this or earned this picturesque clothing. This reveals the grace and beauty of God. A field of wild flowers is an image that always suggests peace and beauty. It is an effortless creation of God that gives joy and splendour to many. This shows that people can trust in God’s goodness shown through his gracious desire to provide. He is able and he is willing and his provision is not dependent on the strength of a person’s face, but God’s undeserved generosity. Although faith does not earn provision, it is required to recognise God’s goodness. Welch says, ‘…eyes of faith see that God is our strength and shield.’[10] Anxious believers need to trust in God’s control and his goodness and can find comfort in the knowledge that even those with little faith can see that they are clothed and cared for. 

Believers can fight anxiety through the understanding that they are valued by  a God who is in complete control and who is willing and able to provide for them. They can also trust that he knows their needs better than they do.

1. Your Father knows what you need

Jesus says in verse 30, ‘For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.’ To worry about the things in this world, to have anxiety, is to not believe that God is a father who knows what his children need. It is to behave like a non-believer who is blind, denying the fatherhood of God. However, believers can trust in the knowledge that they have a father who knows exactly what they need and they can also trust in the certainty of what they have already been given.

1. Your Father gives you his kingdom

Finally, Jesus says his disciples do not need to worry because they have been given the kingdom. Jesus says; 

‘But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been please to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will never wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ 

Jesus challenges his disciples about what they are living for, telling them that if they seek his kingdom then they will not be anxious. What is his kingdom? It is a place where there will be no anxieties or reason to worry. Jesus says his followers worry not because of things such as possessions, family, security, health but because it reveals something about them. ‘We lose sight of God because what we want (and worry about) is the only thing we see.’ Powlison says; ‘A worrier is storing “treasure” in the wrong place.’ Identifying the focus of worry identifies a person’s treasure, where their heart is focused. Powlison says; ‘Your treasure is vulnerable. And whenever what is “precious” to you is threatened, you’ll be gripped with fear. Guaranteed.’[11] The only treasure which is certain is treasure rooted in the kingdom of God and therefore that is the only heart pursuit which does not lead to fear and anxiety. They must live for Christ and seek a life with him above anything else.

But how does a believer seek him rather than letting their worries dominate? One of the ways they do this is through prayer. Paul says; ‘The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Welch explains why prayer leads to a kingdom focus. He writes,

‘You are coming before the King. You come with humility because he is, after all, the King, and you have nothing to offer him. He receives no particular benefit by having you as his subject. Indeed, you are costly to him. Even so, he invites you to come to him with your burdens, and he invites you to cast those burdens down. At first you assume that his servants will carry them away, but the King actually comes close to you and takes the burdens onto himself.’[12]

As his children come before him, they cast their anxieties upon him, because he cares for them.[13] And so a man who is fearful about open spaces, or a woman who is constantly anxious about the health of herself and her family, or the teenager who is anxious about their body weight in a social setting, when they seek God and his kingdom first, can become a person of hope and trust in God, which is the opposite of fear, knowing that He cares and hears.[14] 

[1] Fitzpatrick, Overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety.

[2] David Powlison, “Don’t Worry,” Christ. Couns. Educ. Found. (2003): 54.

[3] Edward T Welch, When I am afraid: a step-by-step guide away from fear and anxiety (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2010), 29.

[4] Powlison, “Don’t Worry.”

[5] Fitzpatrick, Overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety, 57.

[6] Powlison, “Don’t Worry.”

[7] Fitzpatrick, Overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety.

[8] Fitzpatrick, Overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety.

[9] Fitzpatrick, Overcoming fear, worry, and anxiety, 62.

[10] Welch, When I am afraid.

[11] Powlison, “Don’t Worry.”

[12] Welch, When I am afraid, 81.

[13] 1 Peter 5:7

[14] Welch, When I am afraid, 87.