Daily text, Thursday, February, 8. 2018

[Queen Esther]

Stop being anxious about your lives.—Matt. 6:25.

Jesus’ listeners were anxious about things they ought not be anxious about. Jesus said to stop that—and for good reason. Needless anxiety or worry, even about legitimate concerns, can divide a person’s mind and distract him, shutting out the more important spiritual matters of life. Jesus was so concerned for his disciples that he warned them about this dangerous tendency four more times in his Sermon on the Mount. (Matt. 6:27, 28, 31, 34) Jesus was well-aware of people’s day-to-day needs. More than that, he knew of the difficult conditions facing his disciples who centuries later would live during “the last days,” characterized by “critical times hard to deal with.” (2 Tim. 3:1) Such conditions include unemployment, inflation, food shortages, and abject poverty that many experience. Yet, Jesus also realized that ‘life means more than food and the body than clothing.’ w16.07 1:8, 9

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2018/2/8