Understanding our Value can Alleviate our Fears

Luke 12:6-7, NIV

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:22-24, NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

I find it so interesting that both of these descriptions about our value were spoken in passages where Jesus was talking about fear—fear of man and fear of lack. Jesus was communicating that a true understanding of how much we are valued by God will have the power to alleviate our fears. 

In Job 38:41, God asks Job, “Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?” God speaks so tenderly about how He sees and provides for these young ravens. It’s so beautiful, then, how Jesus almost builds upon this when He says in the passage above that we are much more valuable than the ravens.

We are seen, intimately known, and deeply valued by God—as a child is by their parent. Just as we keep a watchful eye on our children because they are unequivocally valuable to us, so does God keep a watchful eye on us because we are unequivocally valuable to Him. Just as we meet the needs of our children because they are unequivocally valuable to us, so does God meet our needs because we are unequivocally valuable to Him. Our young children don't fear because they know we are watching them. They don't worry about provision because they know we will provide for them. They understand their value to us; and, as a result, they don’t fear. 

Oh Lord, please help us to truly grasp how valuable we are to you, and let this revelation rest upon us and alleviate our fears.