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It has been said that there are only three things you can count on in this world: life, death, and taxes. It is a very cynical way of looking at life, but sadly, this is how many people think.  This should not be so for the follower of Jesus. We must also be reminded that we live in a broken, fallen world, and we are not immune to trials of this world. Anyone who would tell you that the Lord wants all His followers to be wealthy, healthy, and happy is not speaking truth. As the old song goes, “I never promised you a rose garden.” This is very true, but what the Lord has promised is that He would never let us walk through the hardships of this life alone.

Jesus reminds us of this in Luke chapter 12. For many of the people in the day Christ walked the earth, the ability to have food on the table was never a guaranteed thing. This is one of the many reasons Jesus had so many people following Him. They knew that Jesus could feed them. Many of Jesus’ followers were extremely poor; even having clothes was a luxury many struggled to have. That takes us to verses 22-23, “And He said to His disciples, 'For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” I’m sure when the people heard this, they might have thought that it was easy for Him to say. He didn’t have children to clothe and feed. He didn’t have to till the soil and pray for rain just to have some sort of crop, and He didn’t have the bills we have. To a certain extent, this was true, but that is not why it was easy for Jesus to say. Jesus can make these statements, first in verse 24, “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!” Then again, in verse 28, “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!” The Lord is reminding us how precious we are in the sight of the Father. Like any good father, He will provide all our needs and even some of our wants. Granted, we cannot just sit around the house hoping someone drops a check in the mailbox. No, we are to work and be good stewards of what we have. The issue is that if we are so busy worrying about things that our Lord has promised to provide, we won’t have time to seek His Kingdom. We are not to get caught up in the rat race of this world. I finish with this promise from Jesus to us in verse 32, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Trust me, I know that life is extremely hard at times, but we must not allow our faith to falter. Let us be strong in our faith that our Lord will always provide what we need in that time. Let us seek His kingdom, and all these things will be added to us. We can take that to the bank and cash the check.