Try bird watching!

‘Look at the birds.’ Matthew 6:26 NLT

You may not like the political party that’s in power, but you’re much better off than the Jewish people Jesus was speaking to here. Their country was occupied by the Romans, and they paid extortionate taxes to keep them in power. They lived as slaves, so they worried a lot. Then Jesus came along and said: ‘Look at the birds. They don’t plant…harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?’ (vv. 26-27 NLT). In other words, if you worry a lot – try bird watching! Birds don’t know where their next meal is coming from, yet you never see one sitting on a branch having an anxiety attack. So here’s the question: ‘Aren’t you far more valuable to God than they are?’ A man who was out of work, despondent, and worried about feeding his family noticed some birds eating strawberry shortcake from a bin. All at once it dawned on him – ‘If God can feed the birds strawberry shortcake, surely He can take care of me too!’ Even if you suffer from a poor self-image and think you’re not worth taking care of, aren’t you still more valuable than a bird? So look at how well your heavenly Father takes care of them, and remind yourself that He will take care of you too. If anxiety is robbing you of happiness during the day and sleep at night, make up your mind to live by this Scripture: ‘Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you’ (1 Peter 5:7 NLT).

Prayer Point

Father, I feel terribly weighed down by worries of what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and even further into the future. So today, I choose to hand my worries over to You, and trust every area of my life to Your amazing grace. Thank You for loving me and being willing to meet my every need, even when I don’t deserve Your grace.