²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

As if seeing the country and most of the world literally shut down over a virus wasn’t unprecedented enough, now the rioting as begun. It isn’t the first time we have seen this. A few years ago just before the last election we heard of rioting daily for weeks. This may be the most wide spread and and intense that we have ever witnessed in this lifetime. To add insult to injury, the sad and infuriating news floods our social media timelines and friends and family members are at odds debating about who’s to blame and what needs to be done. It is the worst kind of politics. It is divisive. Is it any wonder why so many people take a hiatus from social media in times like this even though we all need social interaction. Some of us are still in quarantine and Facebook is a needed window to the world and our family and friends. No wonder so many people are anxious.

There’s hope.

God didn’t suggest that we try not to be anxious; He commanded us to not be anxious. Look at the wording in Matthew, “do not be anxious about tomorrow”. In verse 27 it says “and which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” It is understandable why current events can make you feel heavy and sad in heart and spirit; God feels that too. But as a good father he has released us from the weight of worrying about how it will all turn out. He’s commanding us to focus on what we can control today. The solution is in verse 33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

So if you’re feeling anxious about what you see on social media and you want to get away without completely cutting off ties to all that is good there (like relationships and encouraging messages), try this today. Turn it off for a while and take a walk outside. Read your Bible, worship, breath the fresh air, and watch the birds. As the scripture revealed to us, they aren’t worried. They know they are taken care of. So are we. God has precious promises for us and He will see us through no matter what the news says.