Sometimes we worry because we feel as if we’re responsible for everything, even the things over which we have no control.
And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Sometimes we worry because we feel as if we’re responsible for everything, even the things over which we have no control. Jesus urges us not to allow our hearts to be lifted up in this way. Rather, when we can be like a child held by its mother, trusting fully in the gracious sovereignty of God, then we will be free from worry.
At first glance, Luke 12:29 seems to reiterate what Jesus has already made clear in his discussion of worry: “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.” A few verses earlier Jesus said plainly, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear” (Luke12:22). Then he asked if by “worrying” we can add an hour to our lives and why we “worry” about things we can’t control (Luke 12:25-26). Verse 29 in the NRSV and other recent translations (NIV, NLT, CEB, ESV) appears to reinforce the command not to worry.
But, in fact, the original language of verse 29 does not use the standard Greek verb for “to worry,” the one that is found in verses 22, 25, and 26 (merimnaō). Instead, verse 29 features the verb meteōrizō. If this looks a bit familiar, it’s because it is related to our English word “meteor.” A meteor is a small piece of matter way up in the sky. The basic meaning of the Greek verb meteōrizō is “to raise to a height, buoy up, elevate.” It was occasionally but rarely used in the sense of being anxious, perhaps because people up on a high precipice can feel nervous about falling (at least that’s how I would feel!).
The only use of meteōrizō in the New Testament is in Luke 12:29, so we’re not going to know how to translate this verb by looking, for example, at other times it might show up in Luke. Meteōrizō does appear, however, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Septuagint version of Psalm 131:1 reads in translation, “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, nor were my eyes raised too high [meteōrizō], nor did I go about in great things, nor with things too marvelous for me.” Rather, the psalm writer “calmed and quieted” his soul like a child with its mother (Psalm 131:2). He urges us to put our hope, not in ourselves, but in the Lord (Psalm 131:3).
Why would Jesus talk about being lifted up in the context of his teaching on worry? The answer, I think, has to do with what often gets us into an anxious frame of mind. We start worrying about things that are above us, things that are beyond our control. We put ourselves in a place that belongs to God, a place of sovereignty and ownership. We take on responsibility for things that are not ours to manage. And this leads to worry, worry that persists because we can’t make it go away, worry that keeps us up at night fretting about things we cannot control.
What would be the opposite of meteōrizō? It would be, literally, to lower ourselves. Metaphorically speaking, it would be to humble ourselves before the sovereignty of God, admitting that we are dependent on God’s power and grace, acknowledging our limitations. It would be leaning back into the strong arms of God, trusting that God will hold us and care for us, especially in matters that are too great for us. It would be assuming the posture of Psalm 131. The more we allow ourselves to be calm and to be held in the strong arms of God, the more we will be free from worry.
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