Have you ever considered that birds are provided for even when there isn’t any food in the bird feeder?
Our area is recovering from the frigid temperatures and the brief snow we received late last week. As I peered out my office window, I saw traces of the snow left behind, but I noticed a flock of juncos, commonly referred to as snowbirds. These beautiful little birds were pecking feverishly on the ground, looking for food. We hadn’t seen these beautiful creatures in almost a week. The feeder was completely empty but they still found food to sustain them.
Do You Trust or Worry?
As I peered out the window at those birds, I remembered God’s promises to us. Jesus addresses this in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 6. In the last nine verses of chapter six, Jesus addresses our tendency to worry:
“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?” (Matthew 6:25-27 NIV).
Jesus tells us how we can’t worry and trust God at the same time. We can either worry or we can trust, but we can’t do both simultaneously.
He continues by discussing how our Heavenly Father provides even when we don’t sow the harvest. We can trust Him in the small things and the large things. God provides for the birds, and if He provides for them, He will provide for us too.
“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” (Matthew 6:33-34 NIV). When we seek God first, there’s not a need to worry. He’s got it all figured out. He created every little detail on this earth and placed every star in heaven, calling them each by name.
God Promises to Care for Us; We Have All We Need
God knows what we need well before we even ask for it. Paul reaffirms this in Romans 8:32 when he says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32 NIV). God provides the things we need and gives them to us right when we need them. Notice the word is need, not want. We have all that we need in Christ.
Paul writes from the prison cell in Rome to the Philippians, “And the same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Jesus Christ” (Philippians 4:19 NLT). God has infinite resources. Whereas humans have limited resources, God never runs out. His love for us never runs out. His grace and mercy never run out. His faithfulness never runs out.
He doesn’t tire of us. Human standards don’t limit God. He is in control. When we face a problem, we have a choice: Trust God or worry. God’s word tells us over and over that He is in control, so we should trust him. Today, I’m going to stop letting my mind be divided. I’m going to trust God and choose not to worry about the things of this world.
As the juncos continue to peck at the ground, I can only smile knowing God provided them with food because he knew what they needed and sustained them. If he cares for the birds like that, just imagine how much He cares for me and you, children made in His image.
(Photo by Jack Bulmer)
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Need help trusting God? You may need to draw closer. Learn how by listening to this podcast episode: If God Feels Distant – 267