The story of Israel is a story about God’s faithfulness.
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Genesis 28:15
In this vision that Jacob experiences, God recounts the promises made to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. He promised that they would receive the land, that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and that all the tribes of the earth would be blessed through him and his descendants.
After recounting the historical events of the remainder of Genesis through Exodus and the battle campaigns of Joshua, we find that over many generations, everything came to pass, just as God had promised.
On his deathbed, Joshua recounts God’s faithfulness:
Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.
Joshua 23:14
The story of Israel is a story about God’s faithfulness. He has demonstrated himself as worthy of trust because whatever he has committed to his people has come to pass. Time and time again he has proven himself as fulfilling what he has promised, whether in blessing or in judgment.
Beyond the physical promises of a land and numerous people stands God’s promise to the forefathers of Israel that all the families or tribes of the earth would be blessed through their descendants. The Bible records for us that Yeshua, as the promised seed or descendant of Abraham’s lineage, fulfilled every promise and prophecy for the nation, and became the springboard of faith to the rest of the world.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:28-29
We see this promise that was made to the earliest believers in Messiah having come to pass up to our day, continuing to multiply believers in the one true God and blessing all of the tribes of the earth into the future.
The Bible stands as God’s resume of faithfulness. As we honor God by trusting in him and his Messiah, we demonstrate we are participating in the ongoing consummation of his faithfulness to all people.
A life that is set apart in holiness is separated because it is constantly being renewed in the image of the One who made it.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Romans 6:19
In the biblical sense, a slave is someone who does not have any ownership rights of their own; they belong to another. In a primary respect, the life of a believer is simply an honest recognition that the life they are living is not their own. Everyone serves a master, whether sin or God; we are simply choosing to follow God.
The life we are living should be voluntarily offered back to the One who provides it to us in the first place. This is so simplistic, it is almost inconceivable. Unfortunately, we are so used to viewing our lives as belonging to ourselves that we easily fall back into old practices of doing whatever we want with them. We many times unwittingly go back to serving impurity and wickedness out of habit.
However, a believer, in the process of being freed from sinfulness, accepts another intentional yoke upon themselves, a yoke that is bearable and easy. This is because it is a life being lived as the Designer has created it to be: a life separated to Him. We recognize that all life flows from God and we are simply yielding ourselves to live within the parameters of the life that he has given us.
A life that is set apart in holiness is separated because it is constantly being renewed in the image of the One who made it. Our mindfulness in remaining intentionally and purposefully bound to this life is what causes us to become holy and set apart for use by God.
We need to be vigilant in removing all unrighteous practices from our lives.
He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.”
Luke 12:15
Yeshua cautions us to be mindful that we are not overcome with covetousness. The roots of some of the words used here mean to desire to “superabound” with “numerically more” material things.
Contextually, this admonition is sandwiched being questioned by a man wanting Yeshua to act as an arbiter in determining the distribution of an inheritance between brothers, and the parable of the rich man who stores up excessive grain for the future only to die that night.
A desire to have an abundance of wealth or material possessions is, for most people, a desire for security in life. Whether it’s financial savings plans, 401K retirement plans, or winning the lottery, we desire to have an assured future. If we know we have more than enough for the moment, then our ongoing provision is accounted for. Yeshua provides the reasoning behind why this should not be our primary focus in life.
First of all, we may work hard to save for our future, only to have our life end prematurely (from our perspective), and who would then be the recipient of everything we had worked so hard to attain? Was all that work and time spent collecting all of that wealth really the best use of our resources while we lived?
Additionally, it does not allow us to be rich towards God. If God blesses us, we should be faithful in using those material blessings to bless others, as he has done with us. This is how the child honors the Father and demonstrates their true spiritual lineage; by becoming like him.
Further, the apostle Paul provides a stern warning regarding covetousness to the believers in Colosse:
Put to death, therefore, whatever is worldly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
Greed, the desire for more and more material things for personal security and satisfaction, is idolatry. This must be put to death, a term of finality; there is no middle ground. We need to be vigilant in removing all unrighteous practices from our lives, and idolatry is the primary indicator of rebellion against God. When we seek to trust our provision (which we can see) more than our Provider (whom we cannot see), then we have fallen prey to idolatry.
God promises to meet our needs, not our wants, but in so doing, we should demonstrate generosity with others out of respect for his care for us. If you really desire to have an abundance, then rather than being an idolater, be an abundant giver.
Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.”
An intentional trust that is placed in God is a remedy to reducing our anxiety and our emotional responses to stress.
Core of the Bible Podcast, Episode 6
In this episode we will be exploring the topic of trust. According to Yeshua, an intentional trust that is placed in God is a remedy to reducing our anxiety and our emotional responses to stress.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
We all understand that we carry way more anxiety than we should be, and to live simply trusting in the provision of God is certainly a welcome thought in our current day and age of information and emotional overload.
This verse has three basic sections to it, and in order to understand it better, we can highlight each section.
The first section is “do not worry about tomorrow.” How does the Bible define worry?
merimnaó: to be anxious, to care for
Anxiety divides our concerns and distracts us with negative potentiality. The irony is how situations and events that haven’t happened (or more specifically, may not even happen at all) can affect our present emotional state.
We can understand this logically, that it makes no sense to worry about non-existent things, but our emotional responses to these abstract thoughts about fictitious realities can run ahead of our logic, and they typically do.
Viewed from this perspective, this is also true about our personal struggle with anxiety: it divides us against ourselves, with the result being that we cannot stand.
When we do not worry about tomorrow, that is, when we do not allow our cognitive abilities to become distracted with non-existent potentialities, we can remain secure in our house.
The second part of the verse explains why we should not worry about tomorrow: “for tomorrow will care for itself.”
That can seem odd to us, saying that a day can take care of itself. But this type of personification of inanimate or non-sentient things runs all through the Bible.
‘Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy’ (Psalm 98:8).
‘When the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled’ (Psalm 77:16).
‘Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun ashamed’ (Isaiah 24:23).
This process of personification is a classic Hebraic method of communicating an abstract concept in a more relatable and understandable way.
We sometimes do this as a way of gaining perspective on the past or future. we might process this through writing to our “future self” or in reliving what our “past self” has accomplished. These are just ways for us to help grasp abstract concepts in practical ways.
This idea that tomorrow will take care of itself is an encouragement that, as the old song says, “whatever will be, will be.” When the day is complete, whatever will happen will be done, and “the day” will be considered as “having taken care of itself.”
We have to exercise care here in not adopting a fatalistic attitude; that we have no control over our actions each day. Yeshua simply uses this method as a way of helping us understand that even though tomorrow doesn’t exist yet, it will have its own complete share of challenges that will be worked through, good, bad, or indifferent.
The third part of the verse captures the last thought in this philosophy of trusting God:
Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34
Martin Luther observes the principle from this passage when he writes:
“Why wilt thou be concerned beyond to-day, and take upon thyself the misfortunes of two days? Abide by that which to-day lays upon thee: to-morrow, the day will bring thee something else.”
Trouble and problems in this life are a given. We all experience varying degrees of these and yet they are a very tangible reality. This is acknowledged all through the Bible.
Consider the stories of men like Noah, having to face the adversity of widespread destruction, or Joseph, being ridiculed by his brothers and unjustly sent to prison in a foreign country. Consider the severe trial of Job losing his family and all the possessions he had. In some ways, the Bible is really all about the types of troubles we experience, which is why these types of stories are so enduring and relatable. It’s because we all share some of these same types of struggles. Each day definitely has trouble of its own.
The good news is that the Bible also provides the insight to overcoming the troubles of each day. Noah trusted God and was safely conveyed through the flood, Joseph trusted God and rose to prominence in Egypt. Job never wavered in his trust in God and had his family and fortunes returned, and even increased.
The Psalms are filled with encouragement of God’s help in our times of trouble:
Psalm 86:6-7 ESV – Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
Psalm 9:9-10 ESV – The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 27:5 ESV – For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
Psalm 46:1 ESV – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Believers in Messiah wrote of the same confidence in God:
Ph’p 4:6 Be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
1 Pet 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
All of these are admonitions to not be anxious about what hasn’t happened yet; let the future carry its own anxieties. If we continue to be anxious about every aspect of our life, can we, as believers, truly be considered to be trusting God? If we are trusting him, aren’t we trusting him for everything?
Yet we continue to have anxiety over so much in this life that has no value, and is really unnecessary in our lives.
In the overall passage of Matthew 6:25-34, if the essential things like food, drink, and clothing are not worth worrying about, what are we currently so focused on that can surpass these basic necessities? Notice, there is no promise of shelter, fancy cars or successful businesses. Life is more than all these things, and they can distract us from what is really important.
According to Yeshua, if we are seeking first the kingdom above the cares of the basic necessities of food, drink, and clothing, we are exhibiting trust in God that he will provide these basic things while we are focused on the more essential realities. In his Providence and timing God can certainly provide those homes and cars and businesses, and it’s not wrong to prepare those things in your life. But we have to remember God is not obligated to make us successful in the world’s eyes, and we need to keep our primary focus on his purposes and kingdom.
Instead, let’s replace our anxieties of an unknown future with gratefulness for what we do have. God has not provided us the ability to foresee the future, but if you are reading this right now, he has given us today. We need to be living for him and his kingdom in the here and now, and not be worrying about some fictional future that may or may not come to pass. God meets all of our needs now, and we can dwell in his presence each day, resting assured that he is the great Provider.
The Core of the Bible 