25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34
Do you ever get anxious or nervous about things that haven’t yet happened? About things that feel uncertain or out of your control? About the future and how it’s all going to play out? That’s called worry. Worry is fearing what hasn’t yet happened. Worry is a symptom of having faith in the worst possible outcome while having little confidence in Christ. It will plague your thoughts. Worry can steal your joy, rob your peace, and take your sense of security. Worry will paralyze you and leave you indecisive. Worry emphasizes the lack of your own ability and ignores the reality of your Heavenly Father who holds the whole world in His hand.
If there is one thing the enemy wants to try and convince you of it’s that your Father in Heaven won’t take care of you. Jesus, in one of His most famous sermons, is laying out in this passage of Matthew what life can look like in relationship with the Father. In approaching the symptom of worry, He first ushers our eyes up and off our current circumstance. Look to the birds. Do they have enough? Look to the flowers. Aren’t they beautiful? Do you know who cares for them? Your Father. Then He asks the question that points to the heart of worry. Do you not believe he will do even more for you?
The God who is attentive enough to the flourishing of flowers will surely tend to the needs of his children. He sees the birds and He hasn’t taken His eyes off you. He’s strong enough to orchestrate history and put a cross in the middle, and He’s loving enough to get on it. Jesus took our punishment from the Father so we could have our home in the Father. Don’t doubt your value. God is attentive enough to see your situation, strong enough to provide, and values you enough to be with you in it.
Maybe you are worried about what school you’re going to get into, who you’re going to sit with at lunch, who you’re going to Homecoming with, or what’s going to happen with your parents. While you may not know the outcome, you’re invited to look to the one who holds it. He may not give you an answer, but He will give you Himself. That’s the point. God’s goodness, not His answers, brings about confidence in the midst of uncertainty. Seek Him today, rather than an outcome.
Response
What do you find yourself worrying about most often ?
What are practical ways you can seek Him today?
