“And He said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.'”
(Luke 12:22-31 ESV)
This is the section of the Bible that I come back to when I am anxious and worrying. Jesus is telling His followers that He understands their concerns—as He says, “Your Father knows that you need them.” But Jesus tells us where to look to find all these good things: to God the Father.
Luther explained it this way: “A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart.”
Jesus calls us to give God the number one place in our life—to look to Him for everything that we need. Then we can replace our worries with something more useful—being concerned about God’s kingdom and finding ways to share God’s love with others. That can really make a difference!
Of course, it’s easy to say, “Stop worrying,” but it’s really hard to actually do that. How do you trust someone invisible?
Maybe this is one of the reasons why God chose to come down into this world as a human baby, as Jesus Christ, our Savior. When we see Jesus, we see God in the flesh, taking care of us. We see that He loves us. After all, He suffered, died, and rose again to make us part of His family. We see that He has power—He can heal the sick and command the storms and even make bread for people to eat! And He has promised us that He will be with us forever, even when we do not see Him.
Finally, He has given us the Holy Spirit—the One who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He creates faith in us and helps us to cling to our Savior, trusting Him even in the darkest times. May God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit keep us close to Him forever.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to trust You when I am afraid or anxious. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on August 4, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
Reflection Questions:
1. What are you most worried about at the moment?
2. When have you seen God take care of you and provide for your needs?
3. How can God use you to provide for someone else’s needs?