“Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?” (Matthew 6:25-26 NET_FL)
Food and water, check. Sleeping bags and pillows, check. Extra toilet paper, check. Our first mission trip to Mexico we were nervous about food, beds, and toilets. For mealtimes we ate from tin cans. At night we crawled into our van and shut the doors. And we wrinkled our noses at the bathrooms. The orphanage children must have thought we were loony. It resulted in needless worry and limited opportunities to engage the Mexican cherubs in their world.
Now I travel for months with only a knapsack. I’m learning my bond with Jesus is defined more by my trust in his provision of basic life needs than it is by success in leading revivals.
If I live on more than $2.50 per day, then I’m ahead of one half of the world’s population. There is a trust that develops with the contact of living directly out of God’s hand. The half of us who have more than $2.50 miss that primal relationship.
To live out of God’s hand means I pray through needs instead of fixing everything with money. It means I know my value to my Father, embrace his faithfulness, and wait on his generosity. Taking each morsel from his hand reminds me his touch is near. I can rely on him for breakfast this morning, money to pay bills tomorrow, and life in the full through eternity.
Perching on his hand also infuses me with courage to help the other half of the world.
Prayer: Loving Father, may I trust you today like the birds of the air.