Luke 12:24

Luke 12:24

Thoughts from Josh Talbot

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Swipe to read today’s written devo!

Be Still - Swipe
Slide

“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.”

Luke 12:24

Be Still - BTS
Slide

Here in this passage, Jesus delivers a death blow to the anxiety that wants to keep you in a rocking chair; the rocking chair just moves back and forth and is not actually doing anything except for stealing our joy, peace and energy. Jesus in a sense is saying why would you stay in this rocking chair all day rocking back and forth and getting stomach aches about what may or may not happen. This passage is by no means indicating that we should not make a plan and be good stewards of the time that God has given us, but rather it is referring to the idea that by worrying, we will miss out on the opportunity to utilize the time that God has given us.

Slide

At any moment our mind can run to thoughts of “will I have a job next week”, “will I stay in relationship with my spouse”, “will the stock market crash”, or “will I have enough food for my family and myself this week”. Jesus is telling the person with this much weight on his chest to look up and look at the ravens (and for us in Alaska, we could say look at the Bald Eagles). God is taking care of them in our beautiful state so likewise, we should trust in Him, that He will take care of us! Indeed, this truly comes back to who your God is; will your God abandon you? Will He not take of you?

Slide

This doesn’t mean that we will not have trouble, for Jesus Himself promised us trouble in Matthew 6:34; but the difference is we know who our God is! He tells us that sufficient for the day is each day’s trouble. we will have trouble today but the trouble we will experience will be enough for today. The same will be true for tomorrow, but we are not in tomorrow, today we are in today and we only need to worry about today’s troubles. In the same way the Bald Eagles flying around us who are looking for food today are in today, we need to live in today.

Be Still - MIR
Slide

When Jesus said, don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself, it wasn’t just a nice little saying sewn into a pillow with no meaning. On the contrary, those words have the greatest authority that can be spoken because they are from Jesus himself. So, with that in mind, it surely could be sewn into a pillow or hung up as a sign in your house.

Slide

This reminds me of Deuteronomy 6:9, where Moses tells us to write God’s truth on our doorposts. Indeed, let’s saturate our life in His truth. We will have trouble, but we can trust in our God who will lead and guide us by the Holy Spirit that He has promised us(John 16:16).

Slide

This is a lifetime battle for myself, when I feel the desire to take control of everything and worry about tomorrow, I’m not remembering who my God is. Looking back at so many instances where life was out of control with health issues or job loss, it truly came back to the truth that the best thing I could do was trust the God who has planned my every step and knows my every need even better then I do.

Slide

1. What are some areas of your life that you need to surrender to God?

2. Is there an area of your life that you feel like you are forced to sit on the rocking chair of stress and anxiety?

3. Are there ways that you can write on your doorposts that the Lord will supply all your needs, will lead you and guide you?

Be Still - EIP
Slide

Dear Lord,

Burn on our hearts the reality of eternity! Our eyes are stuck with stress and anxiety at times and it feels like we are stuck in the deep mud. Lord help us to be like Peter and keep our eyes on you and trust that you will lift us out of the mud, lead us and guide us. Help us to truly believe that no good thing you will withhold from those who walk uprightly. We look to you, trust in you and may the next time I see a Bald Eagle here in Alaska to remember that You are for me and You will supply all of my needs.

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“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.” 

Luke 12:24

Behind the Scenes

Here in this passage, Jesus delivers a death blow to the anxiety that wants to keep you in a rocking chair; the rocking chair just moves back and forth and is not actually doing anything except for stealing our joy, peace and energy. Jesus in a sense is saying why would you stay in this rocking chair all day rocking back and forth and getting stomach aches about what may or may not happen. This passage is by no means indicating that we should not make a plan and be good stewards of the time that God has given us, but rather it is referring to the idea that by worrying, we will miss out on the opportunity to utilize the time that God has given us.  

At any moment our mind can run to thoughts of “will I have a job next week”, “will I stay in relationship with my spouse”, “will the stock market crash”, or “will I have enough food for my family and myself this week”. Jesus is telling the person with this much weight on his chest to look up and look at the ravens (and for us in Alaska, we could say look at the Bald Eagles). God is taking care of them in our beautiful state so likewise, we should trust in Him, that He will take care of us! Indeed, this truly comes back to who your God is; will your God abandon you? Will He not take of you?  

This doesn’t mean that we will not have trouble, for Jesus Himself promised us trouble in Matthew 6:34; but the difference is we know who our God is! He tells us that sufficient for the day is each day’s trouble. we will have trouble today but the trouble we will experience will be enough for today. The same will be true for tomorrow, but we are not in tomorrow, today we are in today and we only need to worry about today’s troubles. In the same way the Bald Eagles flying around us who are looking for food today are in today, we need to live in today. 

Make It Real

When Jesus said, don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will take care of itself, it wasn’t just a nice little saying sewn into a pillow with no meaning. On the contrary, those words have the greatest authority that can be spoken because they are from Jesus himself. So, with that in mind, it surely could be sewn into a pillow or hung up as a sign in your house.  

This reminds me of Deuteronomy 6:9, where Moses tells us to write God’s truth on our doorposts. Indeed, let’s saturate our life in His truth. We will have trouble, but we can trust in our God who will lead and guide us by the Holy Spirit that He has promised us(John 16:16). 

This is a lifetime battle for myself, when I feel the desire to take control of everything and worry about tomorrow, I’m not remembering who my God is. Looking back at so many instances where life was out of control with health issues or job loss, it truly came back to the truth that the best thing I could do was trust the God who has planned my every step and knows my every need even better then I do.  

  1. What are some areas of your life that you need to surrender to God? 
  2. Is there an area of your life that you feel like you are forced to sit on the rocking chair of stress and anxiety? 
  3. Are there ways that you can write on your doorposts that the Lord will supply all your needs, will lead you and guide you? 

 

Justin Fravel

Justin Fravel

ACF Devo Team

End in Prayer

Dear Lord, 

Burn on our hearts the reality of eternity! Our eyes are stuck with stress and anxiety at times and it feels like we are stuck in the deep mud. Lord help us to be like Peter and keep our eyes on you and trust that you will lift us out of the mud, lead us and guide us. Help us to truly believe that no good thing you will withhold from those who walk uprightly. We look to you, trust in you and may the next time I see a Bald Eagle here in Alaska to remember that You are for me and You will supply all of my needs.  

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