You Have a Father Matthew 6:25–34

We all think about the future.

What will we eat? What will we wear? Will our needs be met? What will happen tomorrow?

Thinking about these things is not wrong. Planning is not wrong. Working hard is not wrong.

The problem begins when anxiety takes control of our hearts.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”

Jesus is not telling us to become irresponsible. He is not telling us to stop working, planning, or preparing.

He is addressing the kind of worry that begins to rule us and makes our problems look bigger than our Father.

Jesus first tells us to look at the birds of the air.

They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet our heavenly Father feeds them.

Then Jesus asks:

“Are you not much more valuable than they?”

This does not mean that we should be lazy. Birds still move, search for food, and care for their young. The point is that their lives are still sustained by God’s providence.

If God cares for the birds, will He forget His children?

Jesus then points to the flowers of the field.

They do not labor or spin, yet even Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed like one of them.

If God so beautifully clothes the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He care for His children?

Jesus calls His disciples “you of little faith.”

He does not say that they have no faith. Their faith is simply being weakened by worry.

We often experience the same thing.

When problems become large in our minds, God can begin to look small.

So Jesus redirects our attention.

Look at the birds.

Look at the flowers.

And look beyond them to the Father who cares for them.

Jesus also asks:

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Worry often makes us feel as though we are doing something useful, but it cannot give us control over tomorrow.

Planning and worrying are not the same.

Planning helps us fulfill today’s responsibilities. Worry tries to control what we cannot control.

Then Jesus gives one of the most comforting statements in the passage:

“Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

The Father knows.

He knows before we explain.

He knows what we need.

He knows our weakness.

Christian peace does not come from knowing that everything will go exactly as we want.

It comes from knowing that even when we do not know the future, our Father does.

Jesus does not simply tell us to stop worrying. He gives us a new direction:

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”

Those who do not know the Father may make food, clothing, possessions, and security the center of life.

But the children of God are called to seek something greater.

God’s kingdom.

God’s will.

God’s righteousness.

Seeking God’s kingdom first does not mean ignoring our real needs. It means putting our priorities in the right order.

We do not say, “When all my needs are solved, then I will serve God.”

We say, “Even in the middle of my needs, I will seek God’s kingdom first.”

Finally, Jesus says:

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

We may prepare for tomorrow, but we do not have to carry tomorrow’s burden today.

God gives grace for today, today.

And when tomorrow comes, He will give the grace needed for tomorrow.

At the center of all this stands Jesus Christ.

Jesus perfectly trusted the Father.

In the wilderness He chose the Word of God over bread. In Gethsemane He chose the Father’s will over His own comfort. At the cross He obeyed to the end.

We do not trust the Father perfectly.

But Christ has obeyed perfectly for us, and through Him we have been brought into the family of God.

That is why the deepest message of Matthew 6:25–34 is not simply:

“Do not worry.”

It is this:

You have a Father.

He feeds.

He clothes.

He knows.

So seek first His kingdom.

And do not carry tomorrow’s burden today.

Live today with the grace God gives for today.