Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 8Sample

In many Bibles, today’s portion of scripture is titled “The cure for anxiety." I thought it was enriching reading through this given landscape of today’s picture of mental health.

22 Then Jesus said to His disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Jesus continues to make comparisons throughout this passage, using the wildflowers and the grass. Jesus challenges the culture of His day by saying things like, ”Worry doesn’t add a day to your life." But in the midst of all this imagery, Jesus also points out a simple truth: God provides for all of His creation – the birds that have no barns, the grass that has no clothes, the flowers that do not labour. God’s hand is in all of these things. Jesus sums it up with a well-placed statement, “How much more valuable you are than birds."

Friends, worry only steals from us and comes with nothing to offer. Instead, take Jesus’ words to heart, and allow the Father’s hand to be in your life as well. Let us fix our eyes on the Kingdom of God, on what the Father delights to give, where all things will be provided.