“Look at the birds of the air… See how the lilies of the field grow.”
— Matthew 6:26, 28
When Jesus spoke these words, He wasn’t dismissing anxiety.
He was inviting dysregulated hearts back into rhythm with the Father.
He didn’t say, “Stop worrying.”
He said, “Look.”
That word matters. The Greek — emblepsate — means to gaze intently, to fix your eyes long enough for what you see to begin shaping what you feel.
Jesus was teaching that the way back to peace often starts with what we look at — with the direction of our gaze.
A Personal Reflection
When I lived in Colorado Springs, I’d often take a Bible and head into the mountains to pray and listen.
Those hikes became a kind of quiet communion — where worship, creation, and conversation with God met in rhythm.
Looking back, I think that was what Jesus meant when He said, “Look.”
A Deeper Invitation
The more I’ve studied these verses, the more I see that Jesus wasn’t giving a lecture on worry — He was inviting us to return to presence.
Beneath His simple word look is a pattern that calms the body, restores connection, and re-awakens trust.
What Co-Regulation Means
In the language of neuroscience, co-regulation describes what happens when a calm, safe presence helps another nervous system return to stability.
It’s what a loving parent does when a child’s emotions spill over — their presence reminds the child: You’re not alone.
In the spiritual life, co-regulation happens when the presence of God steadies us.
When our emotions are scattered, His nearness becomes the regulating force — our anxious system borrowing calm from divine constancy.
Five Movements of Co-Regulation
If we slow down long enough to notice it, this rhythm of co-regulation with God runs deeper than emotion.
It shapes the way we experience peace, presence, and even transformation.
In these verses, Jesus reveals at least five ways our hearts and bodies are invited into that rhythm — five movements of divine attunement that reach every layer of who we are.
1. Physiological — What the Body Sees, the Soul Feels
An anxious mind spins; the gaze grounds.
When Jesus says look, He’s gently shifting attention away from imagined threats toward something stable, alive, and safe.
The birds and lilies become regulators in creation, showing us how to breathe again.
2. Relational — The Attuned Presence of the Father
The birds are fed. The lilies are clothed.
They live attuned to the Father’s care — not striving, not forgotten.
Jesus points to them because they mirror how the Father attends to us.
This is co-regulation: the presence of a calm, loving other re-teaches our nervous system what safety feels like.
3. Spiritual — The Gaze That Restores Trust
When our eyes are fixed on what God is caring for, our hearts begin to breathe differently.
The more we notice His ongoing provision, the less we live like orphans.
Jesus is reminding us, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
This is where trust is restored — not through trying harder, but through seeing rightly, through remembering that we are already held by a faithful Father.
4. Transformational — When Regulation Becomes Renewal
As our gaze steadies, so does our breathing.
And slowly, the same Spirit that sustains creation begins to calm the chaos within us.
This is how transformation begins — not in willpower, but in attunement.
Jesus regulates His disciples not through command, but through presence, rhythm, and gaze.
5. Practical — How to Return to the Rhythm
When fear and anxiety rise, practice what Jesus modeled.
Pause.
Step outside.
Fix your eyes on something God sustains — a bird, a leaf, the way sunlight rests on still water.
Stay there long enough for your body to remember: you are not alone.
The greatest threat to this rhythm isn’t unbelief — it’s busyness.
Our hurried lives keep our eyes moving so fast that we rarely see anything at all.
But peace grows in the pauses.
The kingdom is often found in what we slow down long enough to notice.
You were never designed to self-regulate your way through fear.
You were meant to live co-regulated with the Father, whose gaze is already fixed on you.
Breath Prayer
Father, quiet my hurry.
Help me see what You’re caring for, even now.
Let my gaze find rest where Yours already lingers.