Pushing his hearers to reflect on God’s persistent provision for plants and animals, there’s an important question Jesus asks that we must not overlook: Are you not of more value than they? Jesus touches on a doubt that can sneak into our thinking. It’s the lie that God has forgotten about us because he doesn’t care about us. That is the root of a lot of worries. We believe God doesn’t care.

Most of the time, it’s a tightness at my shoulder blades that slowly evolves into a pain that creeps up my neck and wraps itself around my head. At other times, it has been a slight tightening in my chest that stretched to the bottom of my throat.

Those are typically the sensations I experience when anxiety threatens to ensnare me. The cause of the anxiety or worry changes from season to season. Sometimes it’s a mountain of tasks that need to be completed. Sometimes it’s the reminder of certain fractured relationships in my life. Sometimes it’s the perpetual pressure associated with having a job that is reliant upon raising financial support.

Though the individual triggers may vary, the root is the same; I get weighed down by anxiety when I seek to shoulder a load on my own strength. The worries of yesterday, today, and tomorrow are too great for us to bear.

Seeing the Ever-Nourishing Hand of God

Jesus knows our tendency to load ourselves with worry. In the Sermon on the Mount, he warns that people cannot serve both God and money, and then he anticipates a concern that will certainly pop up. 

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