To Encourage You

Psalm 104:16-18 “The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.  In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.”

Do you have any pets?  Have you ever taken care of animals, either in your own home or perhaps on a farm?  If you have, you know that it involves work.  Living things need care. They need things like a place to sleep, food, and water. To thrive they need constant attention.  Now multiply this by all the millions upon millions of living things on earth. Think of what it takes to provide everything these creatures need to live and thrive.  Ecologists talk about habitats, which are places suited to provide living space for living things.  Consider the mind of God, that not only created every living thing, but devised all the habitats, all the thousands of types of places that are suited to each and every living thing so that they have adequate food, protection, and necessary conditions to care for their young.   And the habitats themselves need cared for. Trees need water. Plants need to reproduce.  It goes on and on. 

Think about the mind that started from scratch, with no raw materials of any kind, without any template to copy from, who from nothing created the heavens, the earth, and every habitat on the earth: the mountains, plains, forests, streams, oceans, etc.  And He made every living thing in its unique way so it is suited to dwell in these places.  Such is the infinite and awesome mind and power of God. 

It is this God who has told us the following: “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?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:25-33).” 

You see, as God looked at Israel at the time of Isaiah, He said this: “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand (Isaiah 1:3).”  And if you live in fear and anxiety, it’s a testament to the fact that you, like Israel, don’t know the Master that cares for you very well. May God open our eyes to the glory of the One Who cares for us. And may He give us the faith to trust His words.