Luke 12:22–34

Do Not be Anxious

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Most of what we find in our passage is also found in Matthew 6, a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus may have spoken this twice or Luke decides to place it here.

2.         Jesus, understanding the anxiety that existed in the lives of people in general wants to relieve His followers from being burdened by the common worries all people face.

3.         He reminds His disciples how the Creator God cares for living things like the raven, lilies, even the grass of the field. The point is that God cares for the disciples of Jesus.

4.         Jesus is highly aware of the stress people live under and wants His disciples to be free of it and that by not seeking as of first importance that which everyone needs to survive.

5.         Not that the disciples are not to provide for themselves, but there is something that is much greater for them to focus on, and that is the kingdom of God.

6.         In seeking first the kingdom, all the rest will also be added to them, the practical things of life.

7.         “Fear not” Jesus says, and it is fear that underlies anxiety, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom, to be a part of God’s great plan of salvation.

8.         We are to seek as of greatest importance the “treasure” in heaven and then our heart, our personhood, will be in the right place.