Scripture: Luke 12:22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 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! 25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?

Observation: Jesus had sent out his core 12 disciples to minister in various locations in Luke chapter 9. Then he sent out 70 more in Luke 10. Here in Luke 12 he does it again (passage begins “he said to his disciples…”), though presumably to a different group fo disciples than before. In each case the disciples were asked to take nothing with them, no food nor extra clothes nor money. Nothing but the shirts on their backs and a walking staff if needed. It would appear some of the disciples were getting nervous, worrying about their provision as they followed Jesus. So Jesus offers a word of encouragement and a reminder that God the Father loves them dearly and will see to their needs.

Application: It’s so easy to get nervous about provision: food, clothes, housing, and so on. Will there be enough? I’ll have two kids in university starting in the fall, one in a state school the other in a private university. Neither of them is cheap. Working out the financial numbers is a daunting task. Will there be enough?

But then today I think about how the Lord has provided for my family over the years. God has always been good to us. There have been lean times for sure, but we’ve never had to do without anything important. Still – the impulse to live in scarcity will sometimes rears its ugly head.

Prayer: Lord, give us faith to trust you for everything we need. Amen.