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This week we are continuing to look at Luke 12 and in particular, verses 22-34. Please read them every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 12:29-31 (NIV)
‘“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”’
When I was much younger, my dad was a policeman and we lived in a police station. The house was huge and I had many, many rooms to play in. So, being a policeman’s son had a few perks but it also had its difficulties. I didn’t have many people I could regard as friends and most people gave me a wide berth, probably because a lot of the time their family were engaged in activities that were on the wrong side of lawful!
Occasionally, I would do things that were wrong but I wanted to be accepted and to be included in a circle of friends. Deep down though, I knew that as the son of a policeman, better things were expected of me. The standards by which other people lived their lives didn’t really apply to me and even though I desperately wanted to be liked by them I knew that for me, I had to be different because of who my dad was.
In our verses today I want to highlight that very same point. Jesus is talking to His disciples and uses the word “you” or “your” in a very important way. He says that the whole world behaves in one way and people desire some things, but “you” have a different way of life.
He starts with “Do not set YOUR hearts on what YOU will eat or drink.” The implication is that there are people all around you who care about such things. Their desires are based entirely on their emotions and their carnal weaknesses. I work with so many people who tolerate their work week so that they can enjoy the weekend. They earn money each day just so that they can spend it on food and drink on the weekend. Their complete focus is on how much they drink over the weekend and gauge the success of that time based on the level of their drunkenness. I know that this verse does not necessarily refer to this but I know that some people are very concerned if they can’t go out and get drunk on the weekend. They worry that they’re not going to have enough money to keep up with their friends. We are called to be completely different. We are to trust our God and rest in the knowledge that He will supply our food and drink based on our need and not our desire.
That leads me on to the second point – Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Sometimes we can’t see with our eyes the provision that God is making for us. I know from experience that on occasion, God takes you to the very brink before providing a way of escape. Can we have the level of faith that trusts God even though we can’t see what He’s doing on our behalf? It’s easy to be thank God for blessings when there’s money in the bank. It’s difficult to trust Him when the bills are due and the money isn’t there! His Kingdom is one based on faith. Without it, we can’t please Him and we can’t get to God without demonstrating faith. His Kingdom is all about His rule and His reign. If we look for that first, then the promise is that everything else will be given as a bonus! The challenge today is to look at our lives with the eye of faith and not with our own intellect or logic. I’ll end with the same words as yesterday: Have faith in all that God is and in all that He does.
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