Isaiah 45-48

Out of these four chapters, these were the verses I found most encouraging today….

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from your birth,

carried from the womb;

even to your old age I am he,

even when you turn gray I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

(Isaiah 46:3-4)

I confess, sometimes I doubt that the Lord remembers me or cares about me. For the most part, I often do not think I am worthy of his remembrance or care. Perhaps you often feel the same way. It is in moments when we do feel like this that we need to take to heart verses like these. Granted, these words were addressed first to Israel long ago, but does not Jesus say something similar?

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. 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? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Jesus assures us of God’s care. These words most definitely apply to us today. Jesus promises that if we seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, all of our basic needs will be met (food, shelter, clothing). Even when we fail to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, the Lord continues to care for us, for we are his children and he promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) We can rest secure in God’s everlasting arms and be sure that we will never fall through. God has carried us from birth and God will continue to carry us into old age and beyond.

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