The Useless Weight of Worry

Matthew 6:27 – “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Related Passages: Matthew 6:25–34, Philippians 4:6–7, Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7

The Addiction to Control

Worry often feels like a necessity… almost as if it’s something responsible people do. The thing is that Jesus asks a deeply exposing question in Matthew 6:27: Has worry ever helped? Has it added even a moment to your life? The answer is clearly no.

For someone passing through recovery, this question hits hard. Addiction often grows from trying to control pain, silence fear, or escape stress. And once we let go of the substance or behavior, worry comes rushing in to take its place. Jesus challenges us to drop the illusion that worry is productive.

1. Worry Doesn’t Work (Matthew 6:27)

Jesus’ words cut through the noise of anxiety. He reminds us that worry doesn’t add… it subtracts. It steals joy, peace, sleep, focus, and trust in God. Recovery is about surrender, not self-strangling control.

📖 Reflection: What do you tend to worry about most? What do you try to control that isn’t yours to carry?

2. Worry Reveals Our Faith Focus (Matthew 6:30)

A few verses later, Jesus gently says, “O you of little faith!” That’s not a rebuke; it’s a diagnosis. When our faith shrinks, our worry grows. Faith isn’t pretending everything is okay. Faith is trusting the One who holds everything.

📖 Reflection: When you’re overwhelmed with anxiety, are you focusing more on the size of your problem or the size of your God? Offer Biblical reasons for your choice.

3. Replace Worry with Prayer (Philippians 4:6–7)

Paul teaches that the cure for worry is not avoidance, but prayer. He says to “present your requests to God.” God doesn’t ask us to ignore our troubles… He invites us to hand them over.

📖 Prayer Prompt: “Lord, here’s what I can’t control today: (your reply)… I give this to You. Give me Your peace in exchange.”

4. Daily Dependence (Matthew 6:34)

Jesus finishes the passage by saying, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Recovery happens on a holy road that God designed specifically for YOU. God gives daily bread, not weekly rations.

📖 Reflection: What are you trying to solve in the future that you can’t fix today?

Application: Trading Worry for Trust

Ask yourself:

• What do I need to surrender today that I’ve been worrying about?
• How can I make prayer my first response instead of my last resort?

Write down your worries. Now cross out each one and write: “God, You are in control.”

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Have a blessed rest of your day by taking each worry and placing it at the feet of Jesus!

Recover Once… be addiction FREE for a lifetime!