Thursday, August 7, 2025
Luke 12:22-33a, 34 – And [Jesus] 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. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. … For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
It can be really hard to do what Jesus says here, at least at first. We are so conditioned to worry about the future. And why? Because we think we can control and make it come out right—if only we worry enough. But that’s not true, is it?
Jesus urges us to focus on the one thing that really matters—God’s kingdom, God’s wishes. Do that, He says, and God will handle the other stuff for us. We can trust Him.
But this can’t be realistic, can it? Actually, it can, as you find out when you lose all the personal plans you were holding on to, and have nothing left to do but ask God what He wants from you! And you take your first tiny steps in obedience. And you see Him keep His promises, and finally (after maybe 20 years or so!) you start to relax. And it gets to be an adventure. What in the world will God do next?
Why try this? Because the One we love most of all is inviting us to this lifestyle—Jesus Himself, who came down from heaven to give us the real, satisfying life that lasts forever. You know that He gave us this gift at the cost of His own life—when He suffered and died on the cross, and then, three days later, rose from the dead. Now all of us who trust in Him have real life, life that cannot be taken away from us, whatever disaster may strike us. We can take the risk of trusting Him with that life, because He has shown us how much He loves us—and He will never drop us or decide He’s tired of us.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, help me learn to trust You, with the everyday worries as well as with the big things like eternal life. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions: