“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? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. Matthew 6:25-29, NIV

 

The passage in Matthew 6:25-29 has always been one of my favourites. Not only because of the wonderful promise summed up therein, but also the beautiful and practical images that are used to convey this message.

 

In years gone by when I was still in primary school, I remember how we would have a school period dedicated to worship every Thursday morning. For the duration of a whole hour, the entire school met together to sing Christian songs. One of the hits was, of course, the popular Afrikaans children’s song, Kyk hoe dat die voëltjies vlieg:

 

Kyk hoe dat die voëltjies vlieg

Sommer so, hoog daarbo.

 God laat al die voëljies vlieg.

Hoog daar bo.

Hy doen soveel meer vir my.

Ek sal altyd dankbaar bly

En my nie bekommer nie,

Hy’s by my.

As humans, we tend to brood over everything and worry about what tomorrow will bring. We often wonder whether we have saved enough for our retirement, have enough money for groceries, enough petrol in the tank, enough to provide for a new baby. Enough to maintain our lifestyle …

 

But, over and over, the Bible reminds us not to be afraid and not to worry about our future – also not whether we are going to have enough of something or not. Easier said than done, hey? Especially if one is inclined to overthink things.

 

For me, the key is in verse 27: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

 

My mother, a teacher, had the following quotation of the Dutch watchmaker and writer, Corrie ten Boom, displayed on a cupboard: “Worrying doesn’t simply empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

 

How true isn’t this? One can be paralysed with fear and in the end, one is simply unproductive and ineffective. I believe this is also what Jesus emphasised in Matthew 6; it will not help to worry one iota. We can use our time so much better – we can ask God for help and we can try to formulate plans and be productive.

 

To trust God to provide means that we cannot just sit back and relax. Early every morning, the birds outside start off their days flying around looking for something to eat. And God provides for them every day. So why not for us too?

 

Prayer: God, thank you that I can know that You will provide for my needs and those of my loved ones. Thank you that I can know that you will take care of us. Help me not to waste time by worrying. Help me to see and grasp opportunities instead. Amen