“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

That’s absolutely right: each day has enough trouble of its own. Don’t I know it! 

Every single day, there’s something to do. And even with a full to-do list, I might as well keep an empty slot for the unexpected to-do that inevitably pops up, disrupting my fully saturated schedule.

There’s always something to do. And tomorrow, there will be more things to do.

One of my most consistent worries is my productivity. The speed with which I accomplish tasks never feels fast enough. So, of course, I’m thinking about tomorrow. When I don’t finish something today, obviously it rolls over into the next.

The fixation on productivity is so noisy. My thoughts are crowded with the abundance of tasks. My brain’s problem-solving mode works overtime, evaluating and synthesizing in the “free” time away from work. Moments of quiet, calm stillness are few and far between.

My expectation of productivity seems so dominant, you’d think it was vital for my survival.

Jesus would have me consider an alternative. “Look at the birds,” he says. “They don’t measure their days by how much food they store up.” Similarly, “look at the flowers. They don’t labor to make clothes. But look at how God provides for them. And how much more valuable are you?” (6:26).

The only job the birds and the flowers have is to collect nutrients and survive. But Jesus says even they, with only this one job, don’t measure their days by productive nutrient collection.

Okay, but I’m not a bird or a flower. Isn’t my life more complicated than a flower’s?

Certainly! We humans were made on purpose for a purpose, one different from the birds and the flowers. In fact, man was brought into Eden to take care of it. Sounds like good, productive work to me!

Pastor Alex likes to remind us that taking a good thing and turning it into the ultimate thing is not actually very good at all. Jesus teaches precisely this here. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33, emphasis mine).

The truth I am reminded of in all the noise is yes, I was made with a purpose. I have gifts. I have something to do here with this life. But first, seek Him, His kingdom, His righteousness.

Seeking first His kingdom is seeking unity with the Father. It’s pursuing the life He designed me to live, not the life measured by my own standards of productivity.

So, don’t worry about tomorrow! God already has it all worked out. Though it’s still up to me to do the work, faith in this truth produces confidence in His timing instead of getting caught up in the noise of my own expectations.

Are any noisy worries occupying too much bandwidth in your mind? May the truth that the Father knows all your needs and is capable of providing for them cut through that noise and bring you renewed peace.