The Cure for Worrying about Wealth

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
—Matthew 6:33

It is easy to say you cannot worry your way to wealth, but how do you keep yourself from having anxiety about money? Jesus gave the cure for worrying about wealth in Matthew 6:33–34.

If you want to quit obsessing about your needs and your finances, Jesus said to put first things first: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v. 33). So how do you put God’s kingdom first? Jesus gave us some guidance earlier in Matthew 6 when He taught us how to pray. First of all, to put God first means to seek to glorify God in every area of your life. Jesus’s model prayer began, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (v. 9). Dedicate your life to proving to the world that God is different than anyone or anything else. Make it your life purpose to reflect His glory.

Second, to put God’s kingdom first, seek His governance over your life. When you pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” you are asking that His will be done in your own life as well (v. 10). Let God have the final say about your life.

Finally, seek God’s protection over your life. Verse 13 says, “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” In other words, “Lord, keep me from difficult times, but if those times come, keep me from making the wrong choices.” Ask God to keep you from evil. That is how you put God’s kingdom first in your life.

The other key to avoid worrying about money is to live in the present. Do not live in the past; the past is unchangeable. Do not live in the future; the future is unknowable. Live in the present. That is why Jesus said in verse 34, “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Do you know the root cause of all worry? It is calculating without God: “What if I lose my job? What if my child rebels against God? What if the economy does not recover before I retire?” Do not calculate without God. Remember to put Him in the equation: “What if I lose my job, but God gives me a more fulfilling job? What if my child rebels against God, but God turns his or her heart back to Himself? What if the economy does not recover, but God still provides for me as He has always done?”

Above all, do not forget you have a God who loves you, who sent His Son to die for you, and who wants to spend eternity with you. That very same God promises to take care of your most basic needs, far beyond anything you can possibly ask or imagine. That is why you do not need to worry about money.

***

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Straight Talk about Your Money” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org