together with
Happy Tuesday, {{first_name| everyone}}!
Most of us do not decide to worry on purpose….We just wake up already doing it.
Today, we’re backing up a few verses to see the case Jesus was building before he got to the command we’re memorizing.
If you missed yesterday’s email, you can read it here.
In today’s email…
📖 Seeing Jesus in all of Scripture
🔎 The argument Jesus builds before he reaches our verse
❤️ A question to take back into the passage
🧠 Trivia: how well do you know Matthew 6?
MEMORIZE 🧠
But ____ _____ the _______ of God and his _____________, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
Want to memorize in your favorite translation? Try our new iPhone app here.
CONTEXT 📕
I used to be a highly anxious person. I worried all day long.
As a perfectionist, I felt personally responsible for ensuring that every little thing turned out exactly the way it needed to.
One day, exhausted and burnt out, I felt God say:
“Allow me.”
I realized then that I was trying to be in control of my own life — as if I could get it right, as if there was not a King, a Lord, or a Provider who could be trusted to take care of me.
Our memory verse speaks about “all these things” being added to us.
Let’s pause here. What things? How? Why?
Imagine the disciples huddled around Jesus, paying close attention to his every word, with the crowd behind them, when he suddenly stares up at the sky above...
Given their location, on the green slopes looking out over the Sea of Galilee, there might have been waterbirds, sparrows, or doves flying above them.
Since they were not gathered in a church building, it is likely that he pointed to the real Creation around them.
Jesus gestures to the birds (v26) and the lilies of the field (v28) to illustrate a point:
God can be trusted to provide all the things we worry about.
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?
What strikes me about this passage is Jesus’ mindfulness. He was present enough to notice the birds. Am I?
Being anxious, worried, rushed, and stressed does not change anything about my circumstances; it simply makes me feel worse about them.
One of my pastors shared this about worry and anxiety:
Worry has one of two outcomes:
You suffer for no reason: The thing you worried about never comes to pass, so you suffered in vain.
You double your trouble: The thing you worried about comes to pass, and therefore, you suffer twice — once when you experience it in your imagination, and again when it happens in reality.
For some reason, that made something click for me: worry has us believe the lie that worrying helps, when in fact, all it does is cause us unnecessary suffering.
Jesus makes a similar point…
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
It’s a question to which the answer is…nobody.
Because being anxious ultimately does not serve you.
And so, when anxiety threatens to knock me over again, I resist the urge to rush ahead and I become very, very still.
Often, I literally go outside and look at the birds. I watch the steam above my coffee dance. I breathe. I surrender.
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
📖 Read: Matthew 6:25-34
Circle or highlight the following emotions in these 10 verses:
concern | desire | stress | satisfaction | hustle | surrender
👂️ Reflect:
What is one simple action I can take the next time I feel anxious?
🙏 Pray
Father, you are never rushed. Jesus was able to be fully present in every moment and with each person in front of him. If he was not too important to pause and surrender - help me to do the same. Amen.
TRIVIA 📊
Click one of the options below to choose your answer. Let’s see how you do…
In Matthew 6, what does Jesus tell his followers to do when they fast, so their fasting isn't obvious to others?
ANSWER KEY ✅
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
Best,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Eljoh is a South African writer, editor, and artist with a Master’s in Practical Theology. She creates resources to help believers of all ages abide in Christ and grow in faith. Explore more free resources and creative tools at Vine Creative Studio.
Kieran is a husband and father living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
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Try our iPhone app 📱
Want to go even deeper with memorizing Scripture and learning its context?
Our iPhone app, Within allows you to:
Memorize 1 verse every single week and learn its context through daily devotionals you can read (or listen to)
Memorize any verse you want in your favorite bible translation
Store all of your previously memorized verses in one place (and review them regularly with interactive games)
And much more!
What are the differences between Within and Malachi Daily?
Malachi Daily 📧 | Within 📱 | |
|---|---|---|
Type of tool | Email newsletter | iOS mobile app |
Cost | Free | 7-day free trial, then $5.99/mo or $49.99/year |
# of verses | 4 verses per month as a community | 4 verses per month as a community + unlimited for any verse you want |
Who chooses the verse | We choose | We choose AND you can memorize any verse you want, anytime |
Bible translation(s) | ESV | ESV, NIV, NLT, KJV, and NASB |
Reviewing previously memorized verses | You do this on your own | Use the built-in memory bank |
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