So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

—Matthew 6:34

There is something so wonderful about the relationship between a father and his children. Certainly, there is just as much wonder in the relationship between a mother and her children, but the relationship between father and child takes on a different hue, a different tone. 

This is at least partially, I think, born from the presence of both great strength and great gentleness. They are two things that seem to be opposites, but the love a father has for his children brings the two opposites together to help create the potential for a beautiful relationship. 

It allows children to feel protected and provided for while also feeling no threat from the strength that protects them, and the result is freedom—children who are free from fear, and doubt, and worry because Daddy is there.

Of course not every earthly father-child relationship lives up to this potential, but the wonderful news is we are all offered a chance at a relationship with a Father Who will always demonstrate these two traits to perfection. 

That Father gave me a hug today. It’s been a rough couple of days. I’ve been battling COVID since Wednesday, had to use the last of my sick days at work, and as I prepared to return to work today, I discovered that unforeseen circumstances had disrupted my plans for the next two weeks. With almost no time to make adjustments, everything I had planned to do with my students got tossed out. 

I was frustrated, exhausted from being sick, and stressed because I could see no way to get around the problems with my lesson plans. And that’s where God met me with today’s verse. Out of the blue, as my last reserve of energy was being drained by the challenges of the day, Matthew 6:34 popped into my head.

This verse is one of a few verses that has always given me a deep sense of God’s care for me as His adopted child. Every time I read these verses, it feels like I’m a little girl again, sitting on God’s knee as He speaks kindly to me and strokes my hair. It’s a feeling that brings with it a flood of peace and the freedom of feeling safe and cared for, just like a hug.

I think the reason this verse creates this feeling in me is that it’s a great example of how, when God tells us to do something (or not to do something), He does so because it is good for us. He doesn’t tell us not to worry about tomorrow because He is tired of hearing our bellyaching about all the bad things that might happen. He tells us not to worry because that worry is a burden we weren’t meant to bear. It weighs us down and steals our joy by diverting our focus away from the truth:

Daddy, our Abba, is here. He is strong to protect us from our enemies and provide for our needs, but He is also gentle and kind. We don’t have to hold onto that worry. Instead, we can lean into our Father’s love and be free by trusting Him to be with us when we tackle tomorrow.