The Cure for Anxiety

25 (A)For this reason I say to you, [a]do not be (B)worried about your [b]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 (C)Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by (D)worrying can (E)add a single [c]day to his [d]life’s span? 28 And why are you (F)worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even (G)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the (H)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? (I)You of little faith! 31 Do not (J)worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for (K)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [e]seek first [f]His kingdom and His righteousness, and (L)all these things will be [g]provided to you.

34 “So do not (M)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [h]worry about itself. [i]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:25 Or stop being worried
  2. Matthew 6:25 Lit soul
  3. Matthew 6:27 Lit cubit (about 18 in. or 45 cm)
  4. Matthew 6:27 Or height
  5. Matthew 6:33 Or continually seek
  6. Matthew 6:33 Or the kingdom
  7. Matthew 6:33 Or added
  8. Matthew 6:34 Or look after itself
  9. Matthew 6:34 Lit Sufficient for the day is its evil

25-30 “That is why I say to you, don’t worry about living—wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much more valuable to him than they are? Can any of you, however much he worries, make himself an inch taller? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They neither work nor weave, but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these! Now if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are alive today and burnt in the stove tomorrow, is he not much more likely to clothe you, you ‘little-faiths’?

31-33 “So don’t worry and don’t keep saying, ‘What shall we eat, what shall we drink or what shall we wear?! That is what pagans are always looking for; your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart on the kingdom and his goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.

34 “Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”

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