March 22, 2020 HE CARES
Matthew 6:28, 30-33 “And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, “But if God so arrays the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”
In the ‘hustle and bustle’ of life, and when we hit ‘bumps in the road’, we need to remain conscience of the fact that God cares for us. Trials, disappointments, heart-aches, and unmet desires and dreams have a way of diverting our attention away from the reality that our Father loves us and cares for us. In the verses above, we are reminded that God knows our needs. I would be amiss if I did not point out a couple of provisos in regards to God meeting our needs. It would be misleading to say that God knows everyone’s needs and He is going to give everyone just what they need-like He is the big Santa Clause in the sky. What we classify as a need may not really be a need, but a want. We may say we need a nice big house, but again, we may want a nice big house. These verses challenge us and exposes where I trust lies and causes us to examine what we call our needs. Some may feel condemned by these verses, but actually they are liberating when we receive them from a loving Father. All too often we may find ourselves consumed with the relentless pursuit of the things we want and the things we think we need. This pursuit robs of us of the more important things in life-of genuine functioning friendships and relationships, blessing others, learning new skills, enjoying the small things in life, and etc. (Just a thought-we have heard it said that it’s not the amount of time we spend with our kids, but the quality of time we spend. That is a lie of the culture. As we spend unrushed time with our kids, we find that golden opportunities arise-during the course of the time we spend.) Life is all about a relationship with a loving Father who knows our needs and desires, who knows our makeup, and who knows what it takes for us to be fulfilled in life. Just to be sure we understand-there is nothing innately wrong with having a nice home or car or whatever-as long as these things flow out of our relationship with our Father. There is great freedom in being free from the unhealthy pursuit of things that do not bring lasting fulfillment. It is a good day when we discover that it is actually enjoyable and fulfilling to focus on giving, on blessings others, and on working as unto to the Lord in order to provide. It’s a mystery, and contrary to the culture, but as we give, we receive, and as we die to ourselves, we live. The last sentence of the verses above is the key point; the truth of the other verses, and really all scriptures revolves around this truth: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” The smartest thing, the wise thing, and the most fulfilling thing we could ever do in this life is to seek Him first. To seek Him first is simple means that He is our priority. We learn of Him and we get to know Him by reading, studying, and believing His word, all with the help of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Blessings, Buddy
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