Laying Down Anxiety · Day 1
Matthew 6:25-34 — a devotion
Matthew 6
- 25그러므로 내가 너희에게 이르노니 목숨을 위하여 무엇을 먹을까 무엇을 마실까 몸을 위하여 무엇을 입을까 염려하지 말라 목숨이 음식보다 중하지 아니하며 몸이 의복보다 중하지 아니하냐Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
- 26공중의 새를 보라 심지도 않고 거두지도 않고 창고에 모아 들이지도 아니하되 너희 천부께서 기르시나니 너희는 이것들보다 귀하지 아니하냐Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?
- 27너희 중에 누가 염려함으로 그 키를 한 자나 더할 수 있느냐Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?“Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?
- 28또 너희가 어찌 의복을 위하여 염려하느냐 들의 백합화가 어떻게 자라는가 생각하여 보아라 수고도 아니하고 길쌈도 아니하느니라And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,
- 29그러나 내가 너희에게 말하노니 솔로몬의 모든 영광으로도 입은 것이 이 꽃 하나만 같지 못하였느니라And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
- 30오늘 있다가 내일 아궁이에 던지우는 들풀도 하나님이 이렇게 입히시거든 하물며 너희일까보냐 믿음이 적은 자들아Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
- 31그러므로 염려하여 이르기를 무엇을 먹을까 무엇을 마실까 무엇을 입을까 하지 말라Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’
- 32이는 다 이방인들이 구하는 것이라 너희 천부께서 이 모든 것이 너희에게 있어야 할 줄을 아시느니라(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
- 33너희는 먼저 그의 나라와 그의 의를 구하라 그리하면 이 모든 것을 너희에게 더하시리라But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- 34그러므로 내일 일을 위하여 염려하지 말라 내일 일은 내일 염려할 것이요 한 날 괴로움은 그 날에 족하니라Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.
KJV and World English Bible — Public Domain · 개역한글 ⓒ Korean Bible Society
Background
This passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, the teaching Jesus gave to His disciples and the crowds on a hillside in Galilee. The Sermon on the Mount spans Matthew chapters 5 through 7 and addresses how the people of God's kingdom are to live. Verses 25-34 of chapter 6 come right after the teaching on wealth (6:19-24), continuing the call to lay up treasures in heaven. In those days, many people in the region of Galilee were tenant farmers or day laborers who worried about their livelihood from one day to the next. Jesus knew these very real concerns, and yet He taught them to put God's kingdom ahead of material worries. Matthew wrote this Gospel primarily for a community of Jewish Christians.
Reflection questions: 1. What worry grips me most today, and what would it look like to lay it down before God? 2. What could Jesus' words about looking at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field mean in my everyday life? 3. What concrete choices might seeking first God's kingdom and His righteousness look like in my life today?
Today's reflection
In this passage, Jesus tells His disciples not to worry about their life or their body. He asks whether worrying about what to eat or what to wear can add even a single span to one's life. The birds of the air neither sow nor reap, yet the heavenly Father feeds them; the lilies of the field neither toil nor spin, yet He clothes them more gloriously than Solomon in all his splendor.
This is a teaching about God's providence — His power and His willingness to care for what He has made. Theologically, worry springs from a failure to trust God's care. Jesus calls this being "of little faith," and He says that while the Gentiles chase after all these things, your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. The promise that all these things will be added when we seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness is a call to reorder our priorities.
Simply put, Jesus is not merely saying that worry accomplishes nothing — He is inviting us to choose trust in place of worry. Just as the birds and the flowers live within God's care, so do we. If there is a worry you cannot let go of today, try laying it honestly before God. Tomorrow's troubles belong to tomorrow. For today, holding on to the one truth that God is with you is enough.
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