Dear Partner,

If an extremely powerful and wealthy person said to you, "From this day forward I personally guarantee that you will never lack for food, water or clothing for the rest of your life," how different would your thought life be? What would happen to worry and care?

One of the meanings of the word GUARANTEE is, "To assume responsibility for." If you had such a guarantee, how much freedom would that bring to your life? You might think, "If I don't have to spend the rest of my life worrying about the basic necessities, then I would be free to spend my life on more worthwhile pursuits." What if I told you that every believer, without exception, already HAS such a guarantee … from none other than God our Father Himself?

In Matthew 6:24-34 Jesus tells us about how our Father provides for the birds and how He provides for the lilies. Then Jesus tells us about the Father's guarantee for all of His children:

Mat 6:30-34 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we EAT? or, What shall we DRINK? or, Wherewithal shall we be CLOTHED? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Why would the Father make such an astounding guarantee for our provision? Because He wants us to be free to serve Him … and Him alone … during our lifetime on this planet. He does not want us to be like unbelievers who spend their lives, from birth to the grave, primarily consumed with pursuing what they will eat, what they will drink, and how they will be clothed. Our Father wants us FREE from the "care" of those things so we can spend our lives serving God and not money. Jesus made that very clear earlier in this same chapter when He said,

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Right about now, many people come to the conclusion, "Well, brother Gary, if that's the case then I'm going to quit my job and live by faith." When people say things like that, they are revealing that they have been working in order to serve mammon all along. They have been working "for the money," not "for the Lord!" Notice this passage taken from the Living Bible:

Col 3:22-24 You slaves [employees] must always obey your earthly masters [employers], not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please him. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for. (Living Bible)

Listen, Jesus never said our Father has delivered us from WORK! He said the Father has delivered us from the CARE (the worry) of having the necessities of life!

This attitude of the heart makes all the difference in the world. A heart that is truly "free of worry and care" is a heart that is free to serve the Lord. You can come to the place where you fully believe the guarantee of the Father and rid your heart completely of "worry and care." You can become immune to the devil's attempts to devour you.

1 Pet 5:6-9 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

When the devil comes looking for a person whom he may devour, he is looking for a heart full of "worry and care." He can devour that person's entire lifetime by influencing them to spend it serving mammon instead of serving God in His kingdom. Every day will be consumed with seeking "What will I eat? What will I drink? How will I be clothed?" … instead of "Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

But we are to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand by BELIEVING the GUARANTEE of the Father to supply our needs. We make sure we CAST ALL OF OUR CARE UPON HIM. What FREEDOM there is in simply BELIEVING the GUARANTEE of the Father!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

Back « to the Resource page or on to the Next letter » Mar 2001