Does He feed His birds, and will He starve His babes?

(Letters of John Berridge, 1716-1793)

Alas! how little do we possess of that love which bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. We grow more like Jesus, only as we grow up into Him in love; and this grace purifies, and sweetens the affections, banishing selfishness, so far as it prevails. It is the temper of Heaven, and the nature of God; for God is love.

And can a God of love allow His children to lack anything needful? Does He feed His birds, and will He starve His babes? Has He given us bodies to be fed and clothed; and will He withhold food and clothing? If you happen to feel anxiety about these matters, remember the sweet, quieting word, which Jesus has dropped to hush your heart, "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things!"

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:25-26