What are you worried about?

Let’s face it, life is difficult. “Where will my family live?” “What will my family eat?” “How will I send my children to college?” “Will I have a job next week after the merger?” Although we may not struggle about these exact questions, we all know life is a struggle, no matter who we are or where we live. And yet the Lord says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on.” (Matthew 6.25)

This commandment by Christ creates a conflict in our hearts. We wake up every morning feeling with our own hands and seeing with our own eyes the struggle that is before us. Some are tempted to respond by “just sitting back and waiting for God to provide,” because Jesus says, “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?” (Matthew 6.26) But this mentality is not where our hearts should attempt to resolve the conflict. Jesus also says, “For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." (Matthew 6.32-33)

The birds are not anxious, nor are the birds lazy. They live every day struggling just as we do to make ends meet. They search for food and shelter just as we do. The key my brothers and sisters isn’t to avoid the struggle; the key is to avoid the anxiety. The cure to anxiety is the Kingdom of God, the only place of true peace and rest. Seek the kingdom and the peace of God will settle the anxious heart. Only then can we truly fly high above the earthly cares as the birds.