TOPIC: IN GOD’S CARE
Bible Reading: Leviticus 4-6; Matthew 25:1-30
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” – Matthew 6:26 (KJV)
Jesus said to look at the birds because you will never see a worried or stressed bird. So let’s begin by saying, “STOP worrying, God’s got your back!” Worry is an amplifier; it will make a molehill look like a mountain. The truth is, God can and will supernaturally take care of you. He is a God of abundance.
Scripture tells us that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt with great wealth (Exodus 3:21-22). Ordinarily one would think that with that kind of wealth, they wouldn’t need anything for the rest of their lives but that wasn’t the case because God can NEVER be replaced with gold.
For forty years, God took care of the children of Israel and not one of them was feeble or poor (Psalm 105:37). Despite the great wealth the Israelites still needed God because they were God’s inheritance and as such His responsibility (Isaiah 19:25). When they wanted bread and meat God didn’t ask them to buy it, neither did He ask them to kill their livestock for meat or bake from their flours for bread. He supernaturally provided it for them (Exodus 16:11-18). Even in the hot desert the Bible says in Exodus 13:21 (KJV), “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day.” God had every area of their lives supernaturally covered.
Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (KJV) says, “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” To be carried on an eagle’s wings means to be supernaturally taken care of by God ALONE. Nothing has changed today because God still supernaturally takes care of us, especially in a self-promoting world where the devil tries to make man his own god.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard but there is everything wrong with putting your confidence in your work rather than in God. Struggling to make ends meet in their own effort is the reason lots of good believers are stressed and burnt out. Your trust, confidence and sustenance should never come from what you do or what you have. It must always be in God and His Word and that is where the supernatural strength will come from. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:13 (KJV).
This is exactly what Jesus was teaching in our text. If the Father has time to cater for ‘birds’ that have no job description simply because they ‘are in His care’ then you have no business worrying over needs. Be diligent at what you do and be a faithful steward of everything that God puts in your care but NEVER put your trust in those things. God knows how to orchestrate events in your favour.
Declare: The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places because I have a goodly heritage of God’s care.
Pastor Alfred Samuel