“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.”Matthew 6:19–21
Jesus began His teaching on worry by talking about treasure. Not because He is anti-possessions or dismissive about material needs — He is not. But because Jesus understands something we often overlook: what we treasure shapes how we live. And what we value most determines what we fear losing most.
The heart follows treasure. And treasure either anchors the heart in peace or entangles it in worry.
Most of our anxieties grow around what we love, protect, or depend on. We fear financial loss because we depend on financial security. We fear the future because we depend on our plans. We fear instability because we depend on our sense of control. We fear human approval because we depend on reputation or acceptance.
Jesus does not rebuke the presence of these fears. He instead reveals the root beneath them: our hearts cling to earthly treasures too tightly.
Earthly treasures aren’t bad. Many are gifts of God — family, work, resources, friendships, opportunities. But they make terrible masters. They were never meant to carry the weight of our identity or the burden of our peace.
Earthly treasures can be lost. They can rust, break, and disappear overnight.
They cannot hold the soul steady.
But heavenly treasure — the nearness of God, the character of Christ formed in us, obedience, trust, righteousness, love, truth, eternal fellowship — cannot be taken. It is stable, durable, lasting, safe. When Jesus says, “store up treasures in heaven,” He is inviting us into something far richer than moral duty. He is inviting us into freedom: freedom from the tyranny of temporary things, freedom from anxiety rooted in losing what cannot last, freedom from a life spent guarding treasures that cannot protect us.
He is inviting us into a life where the heart is anchored in Someone unshakeable.
This is not a call to reject all earthly things — but to reorder them. To love them properly — as gifts, not gods; blessings, not anchors.
When your heart rests in the unchanging worth of Christ, the uncertainty of earthly things becomes less threatening. Needs no longer define you. Circumstances no longer control you. Tomorrow no longer terrifies you. Because your treasure — and therefore your heart — is anchored where moth and rust cannot reach.
The journey from worry to trust is not mainly about managing anxiety. It is about re-centering treasure.
God often uses lack, limitations, and uncertainty to loosen our grip on earthly things so He can place our hands around something better — Himself.
And when He becomes our treasure, everything else finds its proper place.
We seek Him not only for provision, but for fellowship. Not only for help, but for holiness. Not only for blessings, but for nearness. And in that nearness, fear begins to fade.
Because worry thrives where treasure is fragile.
But peace thrives where treasure is eternal.
This devotional is excerpted from Do Not Worry About Tomorrow by D.C. Robertsson.
