Thankful For A God That Takes Care of Us!

Luke 12:22-34

22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This set of Scripture is probably very familiar to you whether you are a believer or not.  This is oftentimes one of the most quoted sets of Scripture to bring comfort to those who are anxious, worried, and are in a difficult spot.  Most of us can even quote this by heart.  I wonder if we really reflect on the sheer awesomeness of what is being said here.  While the bulk of this can be quoted, I think there is one verse that we always miss though and it is truly awesome.  

Let’s look at verse 32 again.

32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

Isn’t that whole verse just truly awesome!  We should be thankful that we have a God who receives pleasure out of blessing us!  Have you ever thought about that?  God wants to bless His children!  That’s why He wants us all to place our faith and trust in Him.  

God gives us so much and I think we miss it everyday.  We are approaching Thanksgiving here in the US in less than a week.   We have gone over some awesome things to be thankful for God giving us, but honestly, these devotionals could never stop.  When one thinks about everything that God gives us, you can become overwhelmed.  Let’s look at these Scriptures and just think about the material things that He actually provides.

The first thing he mentions for us not to worry about is our very life.  So many of us get consumed and caught up with trying to find our own meaning and purpose.  Many spend years stressing the fact.  Ask any eighteen year old and they will attest to that.  We have a world who pressures us into saying that we need to be defined.  God shouts from the rooftop that He defines us!  God created us special and He gifts us special as well so it is Him who defines us and no one else.  The only measure of a man is the measure of Christ and He transforms you day after day when you believe in Him as Savior.

After that it’s mentioned what we will eat, what we will wear, our basic necessities.  God owns everything and it’s by His miraculous hand everything was made.  The cotton, wool, and other fabrics made into your clothes was made by the Hand of God.  The hands that created those pieces of clothing were knit together in a mother’s womb.  The food that we eat has risen from the Earth that He sustains and created with His very spoken word.  We have nothing if it wasn’t for God, yet we complain sometimes don’t we.  We complain that we don’t have enough.  We complain that we need nicer things, but Scripture admonishes us to be content and thankful.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 says,

6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Instead of complaining that we don’t have the latest and what we perceive to be the greatest thing, we should thank God for every little thing that He has bestowed upon us.  He has deemed it sufficient, so we should look at it in such a way as well.

It’s a tough spot in the world right now isn’t it?  The reality of COVID-19 has really settled in.  Every day I see social media post after post where people are complaining about the situation we are in.  Christian, here is something that is going to sting a little, so please be prepared.  Even in this, we are called to be content.  God has given us what we need.  Paul said in Philippians 4:11-12:

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

So, even in this time of great uncertainty, we as Christians should be the example.  We should be busy doing what the Father really wants us doing.  No, not complaining on social media.  He wants us to be about kingdom work.

God admonishes us to be thankful to Him for what He has given and to focus on the kingdom.  Why does God want us to focus on the kingdom?  I get goosebumps just thinking about this.  God wants more in His kingdom!  He wants us to share the good news with our friends, family, co-workers, and even strangers.  God wants us to share with everyone so the kingdom can grow!  

Why does he want it to grow?  It’s not that God needs a large kingdom, He’s God, He doesn’t need anything.  It’s not the fact that He needs to brag or look impressive in front of anyone.  He’s God, He’s already impressive.  So why does He strive for the kingdom to grow?  Remember the end of vs. 32?

 for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

God wants His kingdom to grow so He can bring more pleasure to His children and give all of us more and more and more everlasting.  Our God loves us with such an awesome wonder!  He created us to share in the riches of even just His company.  

What an awesome, awesome thing to be thankful for!  So, today, let us bend the knee and thank our God for giving us….well….everything!  Let us strive to be content in all things that we have and let it encourage us to share the joy by growing the kingdom!