DAY 4: God the Provider
Reading: Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 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?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
We live in a materialistic world where, at every turn, we are
encouraged to buy things whether we need them or not. Indeed
for many of us, our lives are so cluttered with ‘stuff’ that we now
have to hire storage pods to cope with the overflow. We may look
around and contemplate all the things we think we need. There is a
difference between what we want and what we need and God knows
the difference! So in this passage we are encouraged to set out our
priorities and put God first.
To make the point that God is our provider, Jesus reminded his hearers
of the birds of the field and how God looked after them. It is easy to
say ‘don’t worry about food’ when we have a full cupboard, but we are
encouraged to recognise that it is God who is providing for us. This
does require faith on our part, to be able to trust with ‘simple, childlike
faith’ that our heavenly father really does know what is needed.
Worrying won’t get us anywhere. Rather than being anxious about
these things, we could be resting in the love and provision of God.
This is one of the most challenging things that we, as Christians, face.
We can trust God for the unseen ‘spiritual things’. However, to trust
God for our daily requirements is much more tangible. It really is a
test of our faith.
For Further Reading: Hebrews 10:32-39 – the confidence the writer of Hebrews had
in God's provision.
To Ponder: What purchases are you expecting to make over the next
month? How many are essential? What impression are you
giving to other people by your recent purchases?
To Pray: Father God, help me to rest in you and know that you are my
provider. Help me to resist the temptations of the adverts and
to think carefully about how I use the money that you have
provided. Amen.
‘your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.’ v32
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 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?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
We live in a materialistic world where, at every turn, we are
encouraged to buy things whether we need them or not. Indeed
for many of us, our lives are so cluttered with ‘stuff’ that we now
have to hire storage pods to cope with the overflow. We may look
around and contemplate all the things we think we need. There is a
difference between what we want and what we need and God knows
the difference! So in this passage we are encouraged to set out our
priorities and put God first.
To make the point that God is our provider, Jesus reminded his hearers
of the birds of the field and how God looked after them. It is easy to
say ‘don’t worry about food’ when we have a full cupboard, but we are
encouraged to recognise that it is God who is providing for us. This
does require faith on our part, to be able to trust with ‘simple, childlike
faith’ that our heavenly father really does know what is needed.
Worrying won’t get us anywhere. Rather than being anxious about
these things, we could be resting in the love and provision of God.
This is one of the most challenging things that we, as Christians, face.
We can trust God for the unseen ‘spiritual things’. However, to trust
God for our daily requirements is much more tangible. It really is a
test of our faith.
For Further Reading: Hebrews 10:32-39 – the confidence the writer of Hebrews had
in God's provision.
To Ponder: What purchases are you expecting to make over the next
month? How many are essential? What impression are you
giving to other people by your recent purchases?
To Pray: Father God, help me to rest in you and know that you are my
provider. Help me to resist the temptations of the adverts and
to think carefully about how I use the money that you have
provided. Amen.
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