Matthew 6:26

Read: Matthew 6:25–34

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 22–23; 1 Peter 1

Do you know what a group of turkeys is called? It’s called a rafter. Why am I writing about turkeys? Because I’ve just returned from a weekend at a mountain cabin. Each day, I marveled at the train of turkeys parading past our porch.

I’d never turkey-watched before. They scratched fiercely with spectacular talons. Then they hunted and pecked at the ground. Eating, I assume. (Since this was my first turkey-observation time, I wasn’t 100 percent positive.) The scrawny scrubs in the area didn’t look like they could sustain anything. Yet here were these turkeys, a dozen of them, all of which looked delectably plump.

Watching those well-fed turkeys brought to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26: “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?” Jesus uses God’s provision for seemingly worthless birds to remind us of His care for us. If a bird’s life matters, how much more does ours? Jesus then contrasts fretting about our daily needs (vv. 27–31) with a life in which we “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (v. 33), one in which we’re confident of His rich provision for our needs. Because if God can care for that rafter of wild turkeys, He can certainly look after you and me.

Where have you seen God provide for something that you were worrying about? How might remembering and reflecting on His provision in the past help you not to be anxious in the future?

Father, sometimes I get scared. I worry. I struggle to trust. Thank You for Your care for me. Help me to remember Your provision in the past so I’m better able to trust You with future fears.

Insight

Matthew 6:25–34 encourages us not to be anxious about food and clothing, the basic needs of every human for survival. This, of course, isn’t all we worry about. Worrying distracts believers in Jesus from full devotion to Him. Verse 32 says that “pagans run after all these things.” “Pagans” likely refers to those outside the community of believers. The context of verse 33 indicates that anxiety fades when we focus on God’s kingdom. When the mind is preoccupied with thoughts of God, we can step back from worry and remember that He’ll take care of us.