I love the change of the seasons. I look for different signs as each season makes its way toward us. In the fall, I watch the leaves change in color. I evaluate the body of the woolly bear trying to determine if his fatness is an indicator of a rough winter. I watch squirrels recklessly run across the road to bury nuts in preparation for the coming months. I look at the bushes laden with berries which provide food for the birds during the winter. This year, as I look at my bushes, I see abundance. Are we in for a harsh winter? Soon enough the winter will come, but whether harsh or not, God provides for the birds who winter in Ohio. His provision for the birds reminds me of Matthew 6:25-31.

“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? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’”

The passage starts with the word ‘therefore,” which serves to connect truth with a proper response. So, what is the truth in this passage? God tells His people not to be anxious about the basic needs of life. Why? Because He is the One who provided life, He will also bring what is needed to sustain life. To support this truth, He describes the birds of the air. While they do have to work to search for their food, God does provide it for them. He gives even a tiny bird all it needs to survive. He also talks of the lilies of the field and His provision of all they need to grow and beautify the earth. Creation itself testifies to God’s care for His creatures, and each part of creation trusts God for the things they need for living. Creation has no worry and instead simply trusts the Creator. Our response to this truth? Trust God to provide for all you need in life because He has promised He would. Do not worry but seek Him first. When you trust God to provide, you are free to seek Him first.

But there is something more in this passage. Not only can we be free from anxiety over our basic needs, but God shows us how valued we are in His eyes. He provides for a tiny bird. He makes sure birds have all they need. I see it in the abundance of berries not just on my bushes but all around me. We are of greater value than they are to Him. He said so. He provides for the grass of the field, yet the grass is alive one day and tomorrow is not good for anything but to be thrown in the fire. What little value the grass of the field has, yet God cares for it and still provides.

How much more does He value His children? Not only does He provide for our basic needs to show our value to Him, but God did the greatest thing He could do to show the depth of His love for us. God gave His beloved Son to pay a penalty we could never pay, simply because He loved us so much. Jesus died so we could live. He did not send His Son to die for creation but for us. While both mankind and creation have been put under bondage to corruption because of sin, Jesus gave His life on the cross so that mankind could live. One day both man and creation will be set free from its bondage when our glorification is complete. How can we worry about our basic needs, when God has provided for our greater need in giving us eternal life?

The response to this truth? Seek God first in all things. Know how valued you are. When you commit yourself completely to God and trust His provision, He gives you freedom from worry. He gives you freedom to seek Him.

In His Love,

Susan