Our Father Knows

Jesus calls us to a way of living that gives no thought about tomorrow
and puts our future wholly into his hands: “Therefore take no thought,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the
morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself”
(Matthew 6:31-34).

Jesus doesn’t mean that we are not to plan ahead or do nothing about our
future. Rather, he is saying, “Don’t be anxious or troubled about
tomorrow.” When you think about it, most of our anxieties are about what
might happen tomorrow. We’re constantly harassed by two little words:
What if?

“What if the economy fails, and I lose my job? How will I pay the
mortgage? How will my family be able to survive? And what if I lose my
health insurance? If I get sick or have to be hospitalized, we’ll be
ruined. Or, what if my faith fails me in trying times?” We all have a
thousand “what if” anxieties.

Jesus interrupts our “what ifs” and tells us, “Your heavenly Father
knows how to take care of you.” He tells us further, “You don’t need to
worry. Your Fathers know you have need of all these things, and he won’t
ever forsake you. He is faithful to feed you, clothe you and take care
to supply all your needs.”

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap,
not gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them....
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither
do they spin…even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye
of little faith?” (Matthew 6:26, 28-30).

We gladly give all our yesterdays to the Lord, turning over to him our
past sins. We trust him for forgiveness of all our past failures, doubts
and fears. So, why don’t we do the same with our tomorrows? The truth
is, most of us cling tightly to our future, wanting the right to hold on
to our dreams. We make our plans independent of God, and then later ask
him to bless and fulfill those hopes and desires.