Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt 6:26-27 NIV)

It’s tempting to use this teaching of Jesus to beat ourselves up about feeling worried about a situation when, in fact, there are some perfectly good times to be concerned in life.

I think Jesus is helping us to understand that worry itself doesn’t change the situation. It doesn’t give us more time or provide what we need in and of itself. 

If what we feel leads us to an action we can take, however, then we can thank our feelings for helping us move forward and take that action. If we are worried about something outside of our control, however, that we can’t do anything about, it not only doesn’t help us change the situation but it saps our life from this present moment. It’s like a thief.

I like to ask myself a question now when I feel worry creeping in: What can I do about this situation? If there is something I can do, I take action. If there is nothing I can do, then I see worry for what it is – a thief. This doesn’t mean I am perfect at releasing it but I can turn over the situation to God and trust that God is with me in it. I can trust that God cares for me like the birds of the air.

Maybe try out a posture named after a bird today, like my favorite Crow posture, and reflect on Jesus teaching. What are you worried about today? What can you do about it? How can you turn it over to God and refuse to let worry be a thief?