Week 6 | See: From Anxiety to Silence

As Jesus concluded this part of the Sermon on the Mount that deals with anxiety, He spoke about faith. Specifically, He said to those who were worried about their lives, “O you of little faith” (Matthew 6:30). This might seem like a harsh rebuke. However, I wonder if Jesus was actually communicating gentle redirection. He was not saying they had no faith, but that it was small. In other words, their faith was not focused on the wider context of God’s delight and provision. Of course, anxiety narrows our vision and possibilities are limited. We move into scarcity thinking. Jesus is saying, See something bigger.

He went on in Matthew 6:31–33:

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jesus invites us to look at God’s “knowing,” or what He sees. We do this as we seek the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom, put simply, is His presence and activity in the word. And His kingdom is always bigger than what is right in front of us. Our trust (faith) enlarges not because we have more faith but because the object of our faith is larger. 

We move from being of “little faith” to great faith simply by seeing that God’s presence is right here and right now. In Luke 17:20–21, Jesus,

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Our temptation is to think that God’s presence and activity in our lives is coming in the future; that it will happen on the other side of whatever has us anxious right now. This is why Jesus redirects to the present moment: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). In God’s gaze, as we slow down and embrace silence, we see the kingdom of God and know that we are secure; that our lives and what is most important is not in jeopardy.

We see God’s gaze in faith as we move our own gaze to Him.

The apostle Paul summarizes this beautifully in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “… as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” God and His kingdom are eternal. 

Dallas Willard talked about intimacy, God’s kingdom and where it leads:

Intimacy is a matter of shared experience. To be intimate with God is to share His experiences and Jesus prayed for us who are His apprentices in kingdom living that we would know one another with the kind of intimacy that is present between Him and His Father. It is only as you come to know the complete safety that you have in the kingdom of God that you can begin to move toward other people in the kind of shared life that is found in the Trinity.

Love is the destination of seeing God’s gaze. When we know that we are safe, seen, and secure in His love, we become people who love as God does. When Jesus invites us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” it invokes images of the manna in the wilderness (Exodus) as well as the temptation to make our own bread. This simple prayer leads us to depend upon our Father for what we need today – in the moment. 

As you pause for a few moments, consider Psalm 23. Simply pray and meditate on the first line of the psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Peterson translated this verse as “God, My Shepherd, I don’t need a thing.” As you see (perceive/discern) God as your shepherd, how does it shape your understanding of need?

Prayer: Lord, give us this day our daily bread. Amen.