Jesus has secured our salvation by His work on the cross…the tomb is empty…now what? Well, for those who are willing we will continue this devotional journey with some daily thoughts of encouragement from the Scriptures. So, here we go!
“But seek His Kingdom, and these things will be given you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:31,32)
Jesus was talking to His disciples about the concerns and worries of daily living. He was drawing their attention to the birds and the flowers and reminding them that God takes care of these things and that they are more important than birds. But this is more than a talk on worry, it is an encouragement to get your eyes on the Kingdom of God that is all around us.
Jesus knows that we worry about the basic needs in life. That worry is a fear that determines how we live. If you are worried about your own needs it is hard to meet the needs of others. “I’d love to help you, but I have my own problems.” This fear can get to a point that it paralyzes us and we become useless to our Lord and His Kingdom work.
We have just celebrated the fact that Jesus has removed the barrier of sin that separated us from God. We can be a part of the flock as we were intended. We have seen in Psalm 23 that He is the Good Shepherd who, not only owns us, but takes care of our every need. Basically, as Luke says above, He has “been pleased to give you the Kingdom”. That’s right. He meets your needs and more! The Kingdom is yours. So…do not be afraid…do not worry…believe and trust that He will take care of you. Then we can begin to focus on being the people of the Kingdom…the Body of Christ in the world around us. We can be instruments of righteousness useful to the Master.
We are called to be a part of His flock and He has also called us to be a part of sharing with others about this great Shepherd! So, today, don’t be afraid…don’t worry…for He “has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.”