Consider the Ravens
If you’ve been keeping up with the chaos of the world around us, you might feel a sense of anxiety as to where all this is going. Some have begun to prepare themselves for things like societal collapse, power grid failures, food shortages, and so on. Times where many believe there will be a lot of chaos.
Perhaps something like this will happen. I believe something of this nature is coming and has biblical backing in prophecy. But even if not an incident of great conspiracy, natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes are cause for concern! And so, even for me, it’s easy to get carried away by worry for tomorrow. But then, I’m reminded of the ravens
TEXT: Luke 12:22-26 (ESV) 22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
This statement from Jesus is couched in a larger teaching found in Luke 12. The idea He’s driving home in both this statement and the larger teaching is the idea of prioritizing eternal things over the things of this world.
Rather than worrying about material wealth that can burn up, one should look to their relationship with their Creator. Rather than fearing those who could kill us, fear (respect and serve) the One who could do much more on an eternal scale. Rather than defining life by how much you’ve amassed in wealth or status, define life by proximity to God.
In this particular passage, Jesus points to a specific bird, a Raven. Ravens are best known for their resourcefulness, their ability to overcome much adversity, and their black, iridescent feathers. However, when Jesus tells us to consider the ravens, He wants us to see beyond the bird. By considering the Ravens, Jesus draws us to God’s provision and the depths of unparalleled trust we should have in Him!
Consider Job’s Vision
Job 38:41 (ESV) Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?
This passage draws us towards the words of Jesus. We see what He drew from as He taught about God’s provision. Here, God is in the middle of challenging Job’s lack of understanding of how things are. Job was dismayed at all the calamity pouring out over his life. So, he sought audience with God to demand answers.
In God’s response, God reminds Job that he (Job) is incapable of understanding the intricacies of God’s creation. In doing so, God shows not only a profound involvement in the details of the created order. But He also reveals that He cares for even the smaller, relatively insignificant parts of His creation. In light of what Jesus says, if God cares so much for such little things, how much more will He care for those of His Image?
Consider Elijah at the Brook Cherith
Another time Ravens show up in the Bible, we see just how God will care for us, if need be. In ancient Israel, there was a well-known prophet named Elijah. Elijah was considered an enemy of Ahab, the king of the northern tribes of Israel. Mainly because Ahab led Israel into great sin, allowing his wife, Jezebel, to establish Baal worship in the kingdom and Elijah confronted Ahab about this all the time.
God didn’t take kindly to Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, leading His people into worship of demon-gods. So He often sent Elijah to Ahab, resulting in several clashes between Yahweh with His prophets, and Baal worshippers. 1 Kings 17 recounts a famine that sweeps the land as divine punishment.
1 Kings 17:1-6 (ESV) 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
When we look at this passage, and consider the words of Christ, a picture begins to emerge. When we look beyond the moment, beyond the world in front of us, we can begin to see God’s loving provision. We see the Creator of the universe at work caring for His creation, of which you and I belong!
Consider Robert Muller
And these aren’t just pretty Bible stories. God is still at work! The following is an excerpt from HarvestMinistries.org regarding a man of astounding faith, George Muller (Some may recognize this from Veggie Tales).
“George Müller (1805-1898) was a Christian missionary evangelist and a coordinator of orphanages in Bristol, England. Through his faith and prayers (and without asking for money) he had the privilege of caring for over 120,000 orphan children. He also traveled over 200,000 miles (by ship) to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in 42 countries and to challenge believers about world missions and trusting God. In his journals, Müller recorded miracle-after-miracle of God’s provision and answered prayer:
One morning, all the plates and cups and bowls on the table were empty. There was no food in the larder and no money to buy food. The children were standing, waiting for their morning meal, when Müller said, “Children, you know we must be in time for school.” Then lifting up his hands he prayed, “Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat.”
There was a knock at the door. The baker stood there, and said, “Mr. Müller, I couldn’t sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn’t have bread for breakfast, and the Lord wanted me to send you some. So I got up at 2 a.m. and baked some fresh bread, and have brought it.”
Mr. Müller thanked the baker, and no sooner had he left, when there was a second knock at the door. It was the milkman. He announced that his milk cart had broken down right in front of the orphanage, and he would like to give the children his cans of fresh milk so he could empty his wagon and repair it.”
Consider Your Life
As I stated earlier, I can get carried away easily by worry for tomorrow, especially in light of the world events. In one such moment, I remember the Holy Spirit speaking to me, “Consider the ravens”.
In that season of life, I’d been spinning up all sorts of scenarios in my mind of things we (my family and I) needed to be “ready for”. We needed to store food, so we needed a place to store it, and we needed shelf stable food. And we needed a way to defend our food, so I needed guns, lots of guns! And Ammo too! But that all cost a lot! So I needed a lot of money! But I didn’t have a lot of money and wasn’t making a lot of money. So, I was worrying that I wouldn’t be prepared for the coming... something!
Then came the quiet voice, “Consider the ravens”. And I began to recount the teaching of Jesus about how God loves us more than the birds He cares for. And then this story of Elijah, in service of God, who also didn’t till the ground, or store up food in barns, and so on. When the worst case scenario hit, he was taken care of by His God.
Because Elijah trusted in His God, our God, the One True God, he was willing to do whatever was asked of him. And when the moment of truth came, God showed up.
Now, if the world goes to pooh tomorrow, will God show up and feed us through Ravens? He certainly can! But that really isn’t the point. Our focus need not be on the things the world says are important. Don’t let this broken fallen world direct your life. No. Keep a clear ear open to the voice of God and your eyes trained on Jesus Christ. Then He’ll provide what you need when the time comes
Let’s conclude with Hebrews, as it sums up nicely this concept:
Heb. 13:5-6 (ESV) 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
When trials arrive in our lives, it’s easy to get spun up in worry. Instead, choose to consider the ravens. Think about how much our Creator cares for them and for you and trust Him through the storms!
