The Father’s Delight

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:1-59, Psalm 23:1, 1 Peter 1:3-4

In the spring of last year, our home was destroyed by a tornado. The forecast was consistent: It was an atmospheric recipe for a literal disaster. And just after midnight, while we were out of town, that disaster became our reality. I never managed to sleep that night, so by the time I made it back to town, my executive functioning was at an all time low. A dear friend offered to go with me to find some clothing essentials for our family, and as I walked to my van, she took the keys, handed me food, and said “I’m driving. You’re going to eat now.” She knew what I needed, and she was going to take care of it.

The people Jesus taught had needs, too, and they had likely experienced emotions similar to those I had after the tornado—feeling overwhelmed to the point of being unable to discern what was needed next. Throughout Luke 12, Jesus addressed many of the situations we tend to spiral in worry over: physical safety, opposition or persecution, how much money is enough, how to provide for basic needs, which priorities are appropriate and productive, and so on. Jesus’s central message of the passage comes in verse 32: “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

In other words, God knows what you need, and He’s going to take care of it.

In my own life, I often find myself in the middle of a push-and-pull relationship between trust and fear. They are flip sides of the same coin, both responses to what I perceive as a need. It seems that when I choose trust—that settled belief that God is who He says and does what He promises—it reveals what my heart sees as enough. Fear, on the other hand, often reveals those places where my heart perceives lack. In response, I heap more pressure on myself to supply my needs in my own strength, refusing to believe that God delights to give us what we need—when what we need most is His kingdom reigning in our hearts.

When I put my daughters to bed hours before the tornado, my oldest told me she was scared that a tornado was going to destroy our home. I looked at her (maybe a little too confidently) and told her I wasn’t scared. I told her that it could happen, and if it did, I knew God would take care of us. But truthfully, my trust was in the statistical unlikelihood of it actually happening. I said the right words, but it wasn’t from a heart that was fully trusting God. When I read this passage today, I’m reminded that Jesus knows us intimately. His message to His listeners that day lovingly invited them, and us, to remember the words of David: “The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need” (Psalm 23:1). May we all walk one step at a time, hand-in-hand with Jesus, toward a deeper trust in our Father, who delights in providing for us all.

Written by Becca Owens