Practice 10 of 13
Don’t worry
One day at a time.
Key points
- The practice: One day at a time.
- Try this week: When a worry loops this week, write it down, then ask: is there one thing I can do about it today? Do that, and leave the rest for tomorrow.
- The good news: You are held. The God who feeds the birds knows your name, and isn’t going anywhere.
What Jesus did and taught
Look at the birds
On a hillside, Jesus talks to a crowd of ordinary people with ordinary worries: food, clothes, money, tomorrow.
He points at the birds overhead and the wildflowers in the field. Nobody stresses over them, and they’re cared for.
You matter more than they do, he says. So take today as it comes. Tomorrow can wait until tomorrow.
“Don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”
Matthew 6:34
Find it: Matthew 6:25–34
Read Matthew 6:25–34
25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? 27 “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? 28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, 29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? 31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Why it matters
Worry borrows trouble from a day that hasn’t come yet.
Jesus isn’t saying “don’t plan.” He’s saying you are held, so you can put the weight down.
Try this week
When a worry loops this week, write it down, then ask: is there one thing I can do about it today? Do that, and leave the rest for tomorrow.
Low-energy week? Step outside for two minutes and look at the sky.
If worry is constant or stops you living your life, that’s anxiety, not a lack of faith. A doctor or counselor can really help, and getting help is a good thing to do.
A question to carry
What are you carrying today that belongs to tomorrow?
With kids
At bedtime, each person names one worry and “hands it to God” with open hands.
Go deeper
The good news
You are held. The God who feeds the birds knows your name, and isn’t going anywhere.
You don’t earn anything by doing this practice. Why it starts with grace