“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:25-34

It is easy for us to be overly concerned about earthly things such as what we will eat and what we will wear. Even in our affluent society, where the thought of going without food or clothing is far from our minds, we still devote a great deal of time and energy to gathering and keeping an ample store of food, clothing, and other things we deem necessary for our life and enjoyment.

Jesus tells us not to be filled with worry and concern over such things as having enough food to eat or enough clothing to wear. Using the examples of the birds whom God feeds even though they do not plant, reap or garner their food, and of the lilies of the field which are clothed in fairer dress than Solomon in all his glory though they quickly whither and are used as fuel for the fire, Jesus illustrates that God our Maker can and will care for our daily needs; for, indeed, we are of more value than the grass of the field or the birds of the air.

And what good will it do us to worry? We cannot, by worrying, add to our stature or to the length of our lives!

Rather than being filled with worry and concern over our earthly wants and needs, Jesus would have us devote ourselves first and foremost to seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Our first concern ought to be seeking a place in God’s eternal kingdom and to be righteous in His eyes through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ!

As sinful human beings, we focus our attention on having the things we need and desire in this life instead of seeking after our greatest need, to have God’s forgiveness for all our sins for the sake of Jesus’ sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. We seek to cover our bodies and make them appealing to others instead of having God cover the guilt and shame of our sins with the perfect righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ. We seek to store up the goods of this world so that we will never be in need, and we neglect to nourish our souls with God’s life-giving Word that we might be preserved in the faith unto life everlasting.

Jesus tells us to focus on what is really important first – to follow after Him that we might have a place in His kingdom and be clothed in His righteousness. And He adds the promise that our heavenly Father will supply all our earthly needs as well.

And so, Jesus tells us, don’t be worried and overly concerned for tomorrow – each day has enough trouble of its own. Rather, follow Messiah Jesus that He might wash away your sins in His own blood, clothe you with His perfect righteousness and give you a place in His eternal kingdom!

Dear Father in heaven, forgive me for worrying about the needs of this life and neglecting my greatest need, forgiveness and life in Your only-begotten Son. Grant me a place in Your eternal kingdom and clothe me in Jesus’ righteousness. And, dear Lord, give me faith to seek after You first and to trust You to care for all my daily needs. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]