“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? 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25–27)

Back when report cards included a category called “Work and Study Habits,” it was the subject I could always count on for a sure “A.” But while my teachers gushed over my industriousness, beneath the surface, it told another story—one of habitual, pre-emptive worry.

Worry shows up six times in Matthew 6:25–34. In each case, Jesus makes his position on the subject crystal clear: DON’T! 

So, what’s the alternative to worry? Trust. And as with so much of Jesus’ teaching, he doesn’t simply insist. He illustrates.

Enter the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. They don’t fret about food or clothing, yet they are fed without storing up grain and adorned in haute couture only imagined by the wealthiest of potentates. 

No sowing. No reaping. No laboring. No spinning. 

Just fed, clothed, and loved.

Compared to God’s simpler creatures, our complex human minds can be a liability, as we overthink and perseverate about tomorrow. Jesus reminds us that we are infinitely more valuable to God than birds or flowers. 

Then he suggests a change of attitude as we face the days ahead.

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

Now, while pre-emptive worriers like me might find that comment overwhelming (sounds like a LOT of trouble!), Jesus is making a point. He doesn't promise us a friction-free life. In fact, trust is barely required in the absence of daily difficulties! Trust is tested precisely when today or tomorrow (or the day after!) brings with it a fresh bucketful of challenges.

Jesus assures his disciples that in spite of each day’s unexpected breakdowns, personal disappointments, or overdue bills, worry is not a productive response for a child of God:

”Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

No. Fretting adds nothing but takes its toll on the one consumed by it. Jesus wants us to know that in the face of trouble, the God who provides for the birds and the flowers can be trusted to get us through each day’s bucket of woe. 

The question is: Are we willing to test the hypothesis and actually trust Him?

If we spend today worrying about tomorrow, we will end up mired in the anxiety that’s become so pervasive these days. Or we can step out of our habitual overthinking, test the hypothesis, and choose to trust the God who provides. 

For the birds. For the flowers. And for us.

Will you join me this week in testing the hypothesis?

♫ Some lyrics to help us on our way.

If He dresses the lilies in beauty and splendor,

How much more will He clothe you?

If He watches over every sparrow,

How much more does He love you?