| Church School Lesson: Letting Go Of Worry |
"Letting Go Of Worry"
December 14, 2025
Background: Exodus 34;4-7; Psalm 103:1-5, 10-14; Isaiah 40:27-31;
Matt. 6-24-34; Jn. 3:3-6;4:20-24; 8:40-47; Rom. 2:2-11; 8:14-17; 1 Jn. 4:7-16
Print: Matthew 6: 24-34; Key Verse: Mt. 6:34; Devotional: Eph. 1:3-10
Matthew 6:24-34 (ESV)
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you, 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. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew Chapter 6 (Commentary)
Few things can distract our spiritual focus and fill us with darkness as effectively as becoming a slave to money. Note that having money is not the problem, though. The danger is when money has you—that’s when the physical becomes more important to you than the spiritual. You can’t serve two masters (5:24). God must have your devotion if you are to receive his kingdom direction.
6:25-30 For many of us, the admonition not to worry about your life (6:25) sounds just as impossible to obey as, “Don’t breathe.” Worry and anxiety over life are commonplace. But to this Jesus said in effect, “When was the last time you saw a bird with an ulcer?” Birds don’t worry about where they’re going to get their next meal, and yet the heavenly Father feeds them (6:26). Flowers don’t agonize over looking pretty, but not even Solomon in all his splendor could match the beauty in the fields of God’s creation (6:28-29). If God gives this kind of attention to birds and flowers, won’t he do much more for you (6:30)?
6:31-32 Don’t worry about life’s needs (6:31); after all, idolaters seek after things and become anxious. They plead with their false gods for help, but you have a heavenly Father—the true and living God—who knows what you need (6:32). It’s not wrong to plan and work hard. We should do these things. Our error is when we remove God from the equation or fail to give him priority.
6:33 What, then, is the antidote for worry? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This statement is the centerpiece of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. If you get this right, everything else falls into place. God demands that his kingdom rule be first in your life. When it’s missing, you’ve identified the key to your problems. Righteousness is the standard God requires in order for his people to rightly relate to him. To seek his kingdom is to seek to live in accordance with his standards, his guidelines.
Of course, prioritizing God’s kingdom in this way doesn’t mean you won’t experience challenges and suffering, but your life will be aligned under his kingdom authority so you can experience his provision. In baseball, you can step on second base, third base, and home plate without being tagged. But, if you miss first base on the way, nothing else matters. You’re out.
God cannot be second. So, how do you know if you’re putting God’s kingdom first? Ask yourself this question: When I need guidance to make decisions, where do I go first? For many Christians, God is like a spare tire. He’s where they run when all else fails. So, do you seek God’s perspective first (through his Word and godly counsel), or do you seek the world’s perspective? Kingdom Christians appeal to God’s view and his righteous standards first. Do this, and all these things will be provided for you. Align yourself with his agenda, and your Daddy will take responsibility for meeting your needs.
6:34 So take care of today’s concerns, and don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Today is the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday. Focusing on living for God’s kingdom today is the antidote to worry.