Old Testament
Psalm 104:27-30
27 These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust.
30 You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
New Testament
Matthew 6:25-34
25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they?
27 “Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?
28 Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,
29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.
Psalm 104 is a hymn of attention. Creatures look to God for food; the earth is filled with his works; breath itself is received, not seized. When God hides his face they are dismayed; when he sends his Spirit, life is renewed. Provision is not merely a mechanism. It is mercy, and it is daily.
Jesus teaches the same steadiness. Do not be anxious, he says, not because needs are imaginary, but because the Father knows. Worry narrows the heart and turns neighbours into competitors. The kingdom widens us: seek first God's reign, and receive today as gift.
In industrial life, fear is contagious. Households tighten, workplaces tremble, headlines threaten. Scripture does not forbid prudence, but it does forbid panic as a way of life. It teaches us to pray for work, for wages, for bread, without making scarcity our master.
As heirs, we can trust the Father's care. As subjects, we are responsible for how our choices affect others. If the neighbour struggling with bills were beside us at the Table, we would not tell them simply to stop worrying; we would ask what love requires. Lord, free us from merimnao (G3309), anxious care, and teach us to seek your kingdom in public life with courage, generosity, and hope.