Why Worry? Lessons from the Birds in the Storm

Worry in Real Life

Recently here in eastern North Carolina, we had the highest snowfall since 1989. The kids made snowmen, we pulled makeshift sleds down the road with pickup trucks, and we used boogie boards and skim boards to sled down the hill by the nearest overpass. Living in a rural area, we also had livestock to care for. That meant we were out traveling cautiously in some of the worst road conditions we’ve seen in years.

Everything was covered in snow.

One thing I noticed pretty quickly was the birds. They seemed to be everywhere. We’re roughly 35 miles from the closest coastline, yet we were overrun with birds you normally only see at the beach. My running theory was that they had been driven inland by the snow. Much of the coast had gotten snow hours earlier than we had, and they were likely looking for food.

Watching these out-of-place birds scurrying around reminded me of a passage in Matthew 6. That thought brought comfort. I had been a bit worried myself. But seeing the birds reminded me that we were going to be fine.

Jesus’ Words on Worry

Worry can be a powerful emotion. It robs joy. It paralyzes. Jesus speaks directly to worry in Matthew 6:26–34. He doesn’t deny our needs; He reframes our trust.

Breaking Down the Passage

Verse 26: Birds do not plan or store, yet God feeds them. Jesus asks if we are more valuable than they are.

Verse 27: Worry accomplishes nothing. It adds no value.

Verse 28–29: Flowers grow and are clothed beautifully by God without effort.

Verse 30: If God clothes grass, how much more will He care for us? Worry reveals little faith.

Verse 31–32: God knows our needs. Anxiety dominates those who do not know Him.

Verse 33: Seek God first, and provision follows.

Verse 34: Trust God with tomorrow. Today has enough trouble.

God Cares for Birds, But He Cares More for Man

God provides for birds daily. Jesus points this out plainly when He says,

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them” Matthew 6:26.

Birds do not plan ahead. They do not store up resources. They live day by day, dependent on the provision God has built into creation. Their survival is not accidental; it is sustained.

But Jesus does not stop there. He immediately establishes a distinction. In the same verse He asks, “Are ye not much better than they?” This is a clarification of our value. Jesus is making it clear that while God cares for birds, human beings hold a greater value in His eyes.

That greater value begins at creation itself. Scripture tells us,

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Genesis 1:26

 Birds were spoken into existence as part of creation, but man was created in God’s image, formed by God’s hands, breath breathed into Man by God himself.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

That distinction matters. The great care God took in creating man means humans were not only designed to be sustained, but to reflect God, to know Him, and to live in relationship with Him.

Jesus reinforces this difference when He speaks again about birds, this time using sparrows. He says,

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father” Matthew 10:29

God’s awareness extends even to the smallest and least valuable creatures in the marketplace. Nothing happens outside His knowledge. But Jesus immediately deepens the contrast:

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” Matthew 10:30

God notices sparrows, but He knows us intimately. His knowledge of mankind is personal, detailed, and intentional. This leads to another important distinction. Birds receive provision, but man has a Father. Throughout Matthew 6, Jesus repeatedly refers to “your heavenly Father.” He says,

“For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” Matthew 6:32

Provision for birds comes through design and instinct. Provision for man flows from relationship. God does not merely sustain us; He cares for us as a Father cares for His children. Creation, then, operates according to design. Birds live by instinct. Flowers grow without effort. Grass exists briefly and fades. Man, however, is called to something different. Jesus closes this teaching by saying,

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33

While creation functions without worry because it was never meant to choose trust, mankind is invited to trust consciously and deliberately. Worry enters when trust is misplaced, and peace returns when trust is restored. In other words, if God feeds the birds and clothes the fields, and if man is more valuable, more known, and more loved than they are, then worry is a misunderstanding of who God is and who we are to Him.

Do We Matter More Than the Birds?

The short answer Jesus gives is yes, but the fuller answer is far more comforting. Humans are not simply another part of creation being maintained by God’s system. We are uniquely valued, intentionally created, and personally known. Jesus does not imply this subtly; He states it plainly when He asks, “Are ye not much better than they?” That question forces us to confront how we see ourselves in relation to God.

Worry often exposes a misunderstanding of that value. When we worry deeply and constantly, what we are really saying  without realizing it is that God might forget us, overlook us, or fail us. We may never say those words out loud, but worry assumes them quietly. It imagines a future where God is absent, distracted, or incapable.

Scripture consistently reveals the opposite. God is faithful.

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning”Lamentations 3:22–23).

God is a provider.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19

God is loving and relational. Jesus describes Him not as a distant force, but as a Father who gives good gifts to His children

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matthew 7:9–11

When worry takes hold, our focus turns inward. We rehearse worst-case scenarios. We replay fears. We attempt to control outcomes that are not ours to control. Worship does the opposite. Worship lifts our focus upward. It reminds us who God is, what He has already done, and where our hope truly rests. Trust anchors us in the middle of hardship. The storm may still rage, but trust keeps us from being swept away.

Strengthening Trust as Believers

Trust is not something believers either have or do not have. It is something that grows. Scripture shows us that trust is strengthened over time through remembrance, exposure to God’s Word, and daily dependence on Him.

Remembrance plays a powerful role in building trust. Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly calls His people to remember what He has done. Israel was instructed to remember their deliverance from Egypt. The Psalms are filled with reflections on past faithfulness as fuel for present trust. Remembering what God has already carried us through steadies us when new uncertainty arises.

Scripture also strengthens trust by renewing our perspective.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17

 When worry grows loud, Scripture re-centers our thinking. It reminds us of God’s character when circumstances try to convince us otherwise.

Daily dependence is where trust becomes practical. Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread, not a lifetime supply. That daily dependence keeps us returning to God again and again because our relationship with Him is sustained through continual trust. Over time, believers learn that God is not just faithful in theory, but faithful in lived experience.

Beginning Trust for Those Who Do Not Believe

For those who do not yet believe, trust often feels abstract. It is difficult to trust a God you do not know. That is why Scripture does not begin with trusting God as a provider. Scripture begins with trusting Jesus as our Savior.

The greatest provision God offers is not food, shelter, or security, but reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8

Trust begins here. Before trusting God with tomorrow, Scripture invites us to trust Him with eternity.

When someone places their faith in Christ, they are entering a relationship. God becomes not only Creator, but Father. Worry does not instantly disappear, but it begins to lose its power because the foundation has changed. Trust grows from knowing who God is and what He has already done on our behalf.

Conclusion: Watching the Birds Again

I still think about those birds in the snow, far from where they were supposed to be, navigating unfamiliar ground, yet finding exactly what they needed to survive. They did not panic. They did not stop moving. They lived according to the design God had given them.

And if God feeds birds in the middle of winter, creatures that do not know Him, do not pray, and do not worry; then He has not forgotten you. He knows your needs. He knows your fears. He knows your future.

The same God who sustained them in the storm is the God who invites you to trust Him today.

Find out what it means to trust God: https://www.gospellightcomfort.com/path-to-salvation