What Flowers Teach Us About Worry

Written by John MacArthur | With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run eight years ago. The following blog post was originally published on November 15, 2012. —ed.

God is sovereignly in control of all things. That fact alone ought to dispel much of our anxiety. And when we consider the Lord’s fatherly care for His people, we see just how foolish, unnecessary, and impotent our worry truly is.

We’ve been looking at Christ’s teaching in Matthew 6 on avoiding anxiety. We’ll pick it up where we left off last week, with two more vivid examples of God’s paternal care for us.

Worry Is Unable to Accomplish Anything Productive

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us an extremely practical observation that highlights the folly of worry: “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27). Not only will you not lengthen your life by worrying, but you will probably shorten it. Charles Mayo, cofounder of the Mayo Clinic, made the observation that worry adversely affects the circulatory system, heart, glands, and the entire nervous system. In the medical journal American Mercury, Mayo said he never knew anyone who died of overwork, but he knew many who died of worry. You can worry yourself to death, but you’ll never worry yourself into a longer life.

We live in a day when people are in a panic to lengthen their lives. They have an excessive interest in vitamins, health spas, miracle drugs, and exercise. God, however, has previously determined how long we will live. Job 14:5 says of man, “His days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”