We know that God creates and preserves the lives of all people. As you read the following passage from Luke, feel free to consider the things that worry or concern you. It is common for us to fixate on how we must fix our situations and problems on our own. List to the words of Jesus, for you.

“And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 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! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!  And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

– Luke 12:22–31

What comfort do you find in these verses?

What does it mean to you to ‘seek the kingdom of God?’ Why might pursuing these things lesson anxieties?

Return for a moment, to those concerns or anxieties that you carry with you today. God, our Heavenly Father, invites us to pray to Him. As you pray the following, feel free to announce your concerns to Him, knowing He hears you and know that He is present with you in all things.

Lord God, Creator and Preserver of my life, I thank you for providing daily bread, in its many forms. I ask that You grant me faith to trust in Your will and to come to You when I am anxious or hurting. You have promised to hear Your children when they call to you! Hear me, oh God, and answer me. Send me comfort and grant me strength to endure the concerns I face (list your petitions as needed). Lord, You keep Your promises. Hear me as You have heard Christ Jesus. Preserve me and provide for me. Keep me in Your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.