Passage
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Guide Questions
1. What future concern has most occupied my mind, and how does Christ’s teaching expose the limits and spiritual cost of my anxiety?
2. Where do I confuse responsible planning with an attempt to control what belongs to the Father’s providence alone?
3. How can I seek God’s kingdom and righteousness today through one concrete act of obedience, generosity, or faithful service?
Prayer
Our heavenly Father, forgive us for treating tomorrow as though it rested in our hands. Deliver us from the unbelief that magnifies earthly uncertainty and forgets Your faithful care. Teach us to labor diligently without anxious striving, to receive Your daily provision with gratitude, and to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness. Make us content in Your providence and steadfast in obedience through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.