When The Bible Doesn't Make Sense

Matthew 6:25-31 is a tough verse. It's one of those passages that are easier to quote to somebody else than it is to actually believe for yourself. And it's hardest to believe exactly when you need it most.

This verse works the same way Romans 8:28 does. Easy to quote when everything is going fine. And it's a verse we reach for when a friend is going through something hard. But when we're the ones who need to believe it, we find it difficult. Being on the receiving end doesn't help either. Because you have to admit your faith isn't as strong as you thought it was. If it were, why would your friend feel the need to quote it to you?

Before I go further, let's talk about the habit of quoting verses at people. My first instinct is to tell you to stop. Quoting Scripture to someone is good. You're repeating God's word, and you can't go wrong there. But what you may be communicating, whether you mean to or not, is this: I know you're going through something hard right now, but you really need to remember what the Bible says. And if that's all you do, it would have been better to say nothing.

When someone is going through a hard time, the last thing they need to hear is that their faith is lacking. Because if their faith were as strong as it should be, you wouldn't have needed to quote a verse to them in the first place. We often do more harm than good this way.

So here's another way. Instead of quoting a verse, reach into your pocket. If your friend's struggle is financial, give him some money. Offer to buy groceries for the week. Fill up his gas tank. Do something concrete. Be the verse you were about to quote. Don't just tell him "all things work together for good." Be the outworking of that verse in his life.

There's good biblical precedent for this. James 2:15-16 says, "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" James isn't saying words are worthless. He's saying words without action are worthless. "Faith without works is dead," James says a few verses later, and this is exactly what he means. Not that good works save you. They don't. But real faith produces them, the same way a good tree produces good fruit.

Now let's go back to where we started, because I haven't forgotten the anxiety you're carrying. Matthew 6:25-31 is Jesus talking directly about that. "Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on."

He points to the birds. They don't plant, they don't harvest, they don't store up food in barns, and your Heavenly Father feeds them. He points to the flowers of the field, here today and gone tomorrow, dressed better than Solomon in all his glory. And then he asks the question that lands on all of us: "Are you not of more value than they?"

Jesus isn't telling you anxiety is a character flaw you should be embarrassed about. He's telling you who's holding your life. The same God who feeds a sparrow and dresses a wildflower knows exactly what you need before you ask him. That doesn't erase the bills, the job search, the strained marriage, the diagnosis, whatever it is that has you up at night. But it puts your situation inside something bigger than your situation. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," Jesus says, "and all these things will be added to you."

I've walked with the Lord about 40 years now, and I can tell you Matthew 6:25-31 has been tested in my life more than once. I won't pretend the anxiety never came. It did. But every single time, God provided what I needed when I needed it, not always when I wanted it, and not always how I expected it. That's not a formula you can bank on for tomorrow. It's a pattern you can trust, because the God behind it doesn't change.

So don't be ashamed that you're anxious. Bring it to God honestly. And if you have a friend who's carrying that same weight, don't just quote him this passage. Go be the provision. Let your hands answer the anxiety in somebody's life the way God has already promised to answer yours.