Look attentively at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?(Matthew 6:26)
Does God care for the birds? God asks Job in his time of afflictiion this, "who provides food for the raven when its young cry out for help and wander for lack of food?"* Do I not care for you Job? God cares, "He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry."* In fact, "all creatures look to You to give them their food in due season."* Look attentively at the birds, you will learn something about God. Even if they die, God knows, Jesus said, not a single sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing it.* Not one bird is forgotten by God.* God knows the plight of every animal. Are you not much more valuable to God? Even the hairs of your head are known by God (this is how attentive God is toward you) so do not be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows.* It is amazing, the animals cry out to God and he cares, providing for them in their lack, their need, how much more will He for his children who cry out to him provide? God knows and he cares.
The psalmist says this attentiveness and care is God's loving-kindness toward all that he has created, "He gives food to every creature, everlasting is his kindness."* Even to those who do evil, the sun rises and the rains fall.* Even to mankind, He wills for all mankind to know him.* And takes no pleasure in anyone's death.* Even to those that do not know Him God's loving-kindness is on display. But the eternal blessings and favor of God come through the Beloved.
to display in the present order of nature, what has come upon, the incomparable riches of his grace in kindness unto us in Christ Jesus.*
Now, at the present order of things, God displays his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, when we were the fallen and helpless sparrow who cried out, God was rich in mercy because of His great love toward us, and even though we were in a sense dead, he made us alive in Christ, by grace we have been saved.* Like the little sparrow fallen to the ground, broken and hurt, crying out to God, believe you are valuable to God and more so. You are a child, this is a reason Jesus came to give us the right to become children of God.* To the ones chosen, these are favored in the Beloved, blessed with adoption, redemption, and forgiveness. We can boldly draw near and be in His presence and be loved by him. We are valued, and blessed with all the promises of God in Christ. For those chosen He also purposed and called to be conformed to the image of His Son, of righteousness.
... if suffering through righteousness, blessed now, do not be afraid..."*
... if suffering through righteousness, blessed now, do not be afraid..."*
God knows the plight of every animal, and you are more valuable because you are His child, so do not be afraid, do not be worried and anxious! God wants his children to understand this, he knows and he cares, he has a purpose. Cast upon him, all those, your cares (anxieties, worries) because he cares about you.* The scriptures say one weed that the devil attempts to choke us with is the cares of this world.* Defeat the devil's scheme by casting your cares upon Jesus. Knowing God cares helps us endure the weeds, the cares of this world. A large part of casting our cares is trusting in God, believing, but I think it is important to know he cares, know his providence.
Consider sickness and suffering, if we consider these as something wrong with nature, with ourselves, and believe God doesn't care for us we will live in grief and distress but "if we consider sickness to be a gift from the hand of God, an expression of his mercy and an instrument which He brings us to complete salvation, then suffering is something sweet. It is reasonable and even comforting. God in some sense is even nearer to you when you are sick."* If the circumstances of this life (whether persecution, sickness, suffering, need...) bring us nearer to God, then it is a blessing. If we are "suffering through righteousness," or unto complete salvation, then it is something sweet. Oh, to be at a place that we count it all joy to suffer as we know that God knows and cares.