Day 4 - God Knows
Reading Passage: Matthew 6:31-32
I remember as a little child, I would lay in bed at night sick with worry about someone breaking into our house. With irrational tears streaming down my face, I would cry out in the darkness of my room for my parents to comfort me. My father knew what I needed. He would come into my room and patiently walk me around the house to show me that all the doors were locked and that everything was safe.
You see… just like a parent knows the needs of their children, God knows us and cares for us.
Jesus reminded us of this on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS that you need them.” Matthew 6:31-32, NIV (emphasis added)
Did you realize you are known? Did you realize God knows what you need?
It’s easy to worry when we feel we’re all alone. But knowing that God is on our side brings a new sense of comfort, doesn’t it?
As I sat in my bed at night as a child in worry, I’d love to say it was a one-time thing. But it wasn’t. My fear surfaced more often than I’d like to publicly admit… so I obviously wasn’t quick to learn!
With each worry-ladened night, my parents would remind me that I was known by God, I was under His watch, and then point me to His Word.
Like a record player for my soul, I would have it on repeat in my head…
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3, CSB
We can put our trust in God because we know that He knows us, and knows our needs.
As the psalmist David wrote, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:1-2, NIV).
Lord, thank you that in moments of anxiety you know my thoughts and needs and are there to comfort me. Be with me as I continue to overcome anxiety and help me rest in the knowledge that I can trust you. Amen.