Feeding the Birds and Clothing the Lilies

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

Matthew 5:25, 26 (NKJV)

 I love to hear birds sing and I love to watch them as they flutter around my backyard. The other night my husband and I were watching two little hummingbirds that have recently made our backyard hibiscus tree their home. They were so adorable! I just wanted to hold one in my hand! :) 

There have been so many times in my life that God has used birds to remind me of His love, His providence and His concern and care in my life. I absolutely love Matthew chapter 5 and starting in verse 25 Jesus begins telling us about birds, lilies and not worrying about where our next meal or set of clothes is going to come from. I recently heard a message on this at a Woman's Bible Study and it was awesome!

Worrying about money, finances and paying the bills has been something that concerns me and all of us at one time or another. There have been a few specific times in my life that I remember being in desperate need of God's provision. Once was right before my husband and I got married and the second time was when I quit my job to become a stay-at-home mommy. Both times were huge stretches of faith and worry always, ALWAYS seemed to get the best of me. Somehow I can trust that God created the world in 6 days, can keep my heart beating and my lungs breathing and yet, I can't trust that we'll be able to pay the electric bill or buy diapers. Pathetic, but true. 

Time and time again, in every financial crisis situation, God would lead me to the birds. I would look out my window and see them fluttering away and I would hear God's voice say to my heart,

 "I will provide for you."

In all of our financial stresses and leaps of faith God has always told me to put the calculator away. Seems like the first thing I always do when I need to figure out a financial need is pull out the calculator to make sure we'll "have enough" or that the "ends will meet". And yet, God always tells me to put it away! Any time I've had to trust God financially it never, ever adds up on the calculator. I get stressed out and think... "There is no way we are going to survive!!". So, God has told me to put it away... And, in HIS providence everything always works out. We always have just enough. The bills are paid, and we have food in our fridge. :) Truly, God is a GOOD heavenly Father who loves us and who will really provide ALL that we need. 

We have a part in this too as far a finances go. Sometimes we can be guilty of not honoring God with what we have; and that might be why things are so tight and difficult financially. We know in scripture that we are told to give a portion of our income, first and foremost, to the Lord. If we are not being faithful to do this then we can't expect God to bless us. My dad always used to say, "You can't afford not to tithe". Tithing is so important! Sometimes it might seem like we don't even have enough to tithe but we must be faithful to obey God in this and to trust Him. He tells us in His Word...

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) 

WOW! If we are tithing and honoring God with our finances, then we know we have the promise that He will provide all of our needs! Can you imagine God pouring out blessings that you can't contain?!

What financial burdens or fears are you facing today? Remember...

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)

 I challenge you to watch the birds for a minute or two and meditate on Matthew chapter 5:25-34. God loves you so much and He knows what you need!