Do Not Worry
Trust in God's providential care frees us from anxiety about material needs.
Jesus addresses anxiety by pointing to God's care for birds and flowers—if God provides for these, how much more for his children? Worry cannot add a single hour to life but can steal joy from the present moment. Seeking first the Kingdom prioritizes eternal values over temporal concerns. He forbids the anxious rehearsal of tomorrow, not planning — the same Gospel praises the builder who counts the cost first (Luke 14:28). This teaching doesn't prohibit planning but forbids the anxious preoccupation that displaces trust in God. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Thomas Merton wrote that anxiety comes from trying to control what we cannot control, while trust in God brings the freedom to live fully in the present.
Gospel of Matthew