Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates; He blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; He fills you with the finest of wheat. He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He hurls down His crystals of ice like crumbs; Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them. He makes His wind blow and waters flow. (Verses 12-18)
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?...Therefore do not be anxious saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'...Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." Matthew 6
If God isn't your Father, all this doesn't apply. It's a family thing. That's reasonable. Bill and I didn't buy cars for the neighbor kids. We didn't straighten their teeth or feed and clothe them. Our rules didn't apply to the boy next door; the benefits of being a Farish exclusively belonged to our three children. Some might think it unfair that other kids didn't get to do the things our children did. Some kids probably breathed a sigh of relief that they didn't live under our roof. The point is, of course, that certain blessings come with being a member of a particular family.
I belong to God. He is my heavenly Father. I came into the family by Way of Jesus Who bought me as an adopted child by the sacrifice He made on the cross. I am a paid-in-full joint heir with Christ. A royal princess in the family of the King of Kings. The door, by the way is open to everyone, so come on in! Because I belong to God, my Father, I have special privileges. He protects me, feeds me (my daily bread), provides for me, watches over me and blesses me. The One Who controls all of nature has been concerned about me since I was in my mother's womb--a person, created with purpose and potential (Psalm 139). He controls the weather patterns on my behalf; brings the snow then melts it for life-giving water flow. God isn't interested in doing all this to show off. He has no one to impress. God Almighty is just that--sovereignly in charge of everything. And He's my Abba (Galatians 4:6).
Some people think that God is too busy making the snow fall and the earth quake to care about the little things that bother me. I only bother God with the big things. That's what I've heard. The thing is, if you are His kid, you don't bother Him at all. I'm constantly talking with and to my Father. It's a running conversation about practically anything I can think of. He's not a big Santa in the sky or a Supreme Court Judge. It's not God's desire to spoil us if we've been good and beat us if we've been bad. His desire is for relationship with Him. One in which we depend upon Him for our daily bread. Trust Him for provision because we understand the degree to which we are precious to Him.
As a mother, the most rewarding experiences I've had with my children are when they acknowledge the love I have for them. When they respond to a request that might be unpleasant at the time with a willing obedience because they know I would never ask them to do anything that wasn't best for them. As infants and toddlers, they looked to Bill and me for everything. They didn't question where it came from. And they were happy in the safety of the provisions they experienced. Fortunately, they never had to ask where the next meal came from or if I was going to have enough diapers to make it through the day. It is that kind of trust my Father wants from me. That I understand He already knows what I need and that He cares enough about me to feed and clothe me. I think it makes God's brow furrow a bit when I wake up worrying about life here on Earth. I inherited immense blessing when I met Christ, Who said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6)." My Abba loves me. My task today is before me. Look at Him. He's looking at me.
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?...Therefore do not be anxious saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'...Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." Matthew 6
If God isn't your Father, all this doesn't apply. It's a family thing. That's reasonable. Bill and I didn't buy cars for the neighbor kids. We didn't straighten their teeth or feed and clothe them. Our rules didn't apply to the boy next door; the benefits of being a Farish exclusively belonged to our three children. Some might think it unfair that other kids didn't get to do the things our children did. Some kids probably breathed a sigh of relief that they didn't live under our roof. The point is, of course, that certain blessings come with being a member of a particular family.
I belong to God. He is my heavenly Father. I came into the family by Way of Jesus Who bought me as an adopted child by the sacrifice He made on the cross. I am a paid-in-full joint heir with Christ. A royal princess in the family of the King of Kings. The door, by the way is open to everyone, so come on in! Because I belong to God, my Father, I have special privileges. He protects me, feeds me (my daily bread), provides for me, watches over me and blesses me. The One Who controls all of nature has been concerned about me since I was in my mother's womb--a person, created with purpose and potential (Psalm 139). He controls the weather patterns on my behalf; brings the snow then melts it for life-giving water flow. God isn't interested in doing all this to show off. He has no one to impress. God Almighty is just that--sovereignly in charge of everything. And He's my Abba (Galatians 4:6).
Some people think that God is too busy making the snow fall and the earth quake to care about the little things that bother me. I only bother God with the big things. That's what I've heard. The thing is, if you are His kid, you don't bother Him at all. I'm constantly talking with and to my Father. It's a running conversation about practically anything I can think of. He's not a big Santa in the sky or a Supreme Court Judge. It's not God's desire to spoil us if we've been good and beat us if we've been bad. His desire is for relationship with Him. One in which we depend upon Him for our daily bread. Trust Him for provision because we understand the degree to which we are precious to Him.
As a mother, the most rewarding experiences I've had with my children are when they acknowledge the love I have for them. When they respond to a request that might be unpleasant at the time with a willing obedience because they know I would never ask them to do anything that wasn't best for them. As infants and toddlers, they looked to Bill and me for everything. They didn't question where it came from. And they were happy in the safety of the provisions they experienced. Fortunately, they never had to ask where the next meal came from or if I was going to have enough diapers to make it through the day. It is that kind of trust my Father wants from me. That I understand He already knows what I need and that He cares enough about me to feed and clothe me. I think it makes God's brow furrow a bit when I wake up worrying about life here on Earth. I inherited immense blessing when I met Christ, Who said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6)." My Abba loves me. My task today is before me. Look at Him. He's looking at me.
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