Don’t you love promises?  I do.  Every time we think about our childhood, we might remember those declarations of love spoken during our elementary years, the secret notes, folded just so, the ones we passed from person-to-person until it reached the hands of the intended one.

In groups, we girls would stand, excitedly whispering, planning, exchanging the details of how we would get Lily’s letter into Gary’s hands when he sat so far away from her in class.

Lily would write her simple note:  I Love You.  Do you love me?  Check Yes—or—Check No.

Then Lily would pass her note to Mary sitting behind her, who would pass Lily’s note to Tanya behind her, who would pass Lily’s note to Rebecca, who would then . . .

All of this passing back would occur until the most treacherous movement would need occur—Emily would need to pass Lily’s note ACROSS THE AISLE to Nancy, who sat behind ‘GARY’ the intended recipient of Lily’s declaration of love. The transaction across the aisle had to be quick, seamless, and effective, for if not, then THE NOTE would land in enemy territory:  Miss Laird’s hands!

Love comes.

Lily’s declaration, her note placed into Gary’s hands may not have ‘sealed the promise’ as she hoped, but at eight, that letter was her only way she knew to declare her love to her ‘one.’  As third-graders, a ‘love note’ became the surest way two could become a ‘couple.’  That was all-important, the greatest need of the moment in the lives of these children.  Surely, Ms. Laird knew the antics, saw the passing of the note, elected to ‘play along’ or squash the antics of her pupils who needed to focus instead on the math lesson of the day.

• Without a doubt, the Lord Jesus knows TOO how we play games, when in fact we need to stand still and TRUST HIM.
• Truly, our Father knows TOO how we worry and fret over where we will receive this or that, how we will pay that bill, or when will we be able to ever make ends meet.
• Most assuredly, God’s Holy Spirit knows TOO how we oftentimes do not listen to Him as we go throughout our moments, trusting our own ways, when in fact we need to bow down on our knees and PRAY, LIFTING OUR NEED.

May we today, give our ALL to our Father—striving to deepen our relationship with God.  As we walk forward into this day, we are reminded of our Lord Jesus’ promises found in Matthew 6—

Verse 25:  To give us the food, drink, and clothing we need.

Verse 26:  Provides us an example—just look at the birds & see how the “Father feeds them.”

Verse 27:  Reminding us how worry cannot add days to our lives.

Verse 28:  Providing us a second example—just look at “the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,”

Verse 29:  Reminding us how even King Solomon in his wealth was not clothed as grand as the lilies of the field.

Verse 30:  Then Jesus reveals God’s Promise—“if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? . . .”

Verse 31-32:  For one of God’s children to worry if God will see to their basic needs is to be filled with LITTLE FAITH!

• Our task of knowing HOW to TRUST HIM is really so simple.
• Our goal of seeing HOW HIS LOVE IS AS TRUE AS GOD PROMISES US is really so simple.
• We do not need to fret, to worry, to be discouraged, or to be anxious.

We only need—

to BELIEVE,

to SEEK HIS KINGDOM FIRST,

to FAITHFULLY TRUST—HE DOES LOVE US & HE WILL PROVIDE ALL THE THINGS WE NEED!