It was a beautiful morning with the sun brightly shining, the trees budding, and the robins busily hopping about on the front lawn.

I watched as a robin carefully took teeny pieces of twigs and flew away. A few minutes later, she returned for another piece of twig, other times for some leaves or grass.

Her activity made me smile as I knew she was busy at work making a nest, and soon there would be eggs for her to sit upon.

Then the verse came to mind:

“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”
(Matthew 6:26, NLT)

Yes, look at the birds as they happily make do with what is available to them. Piece by piece, every small twig and blade of grass slowly building a masterpiece perfectly suited to its purpose.

I must confess, as Lulu Tree treasurer, it’s hard not to focus on the amount of money in our bank account. It’s difficult to find the balance between the numbers before my eyes, the needs of the people we serve, and trusting God.

The question comes again, “Aren’t they more valuable to Him than they (the birds) are?”

Indeed they are!

Each week we pray over the needs of the people in the places He has planted us. Four branches of this Lulu Tree He now is growing. The needs are vast and vary from country to country, and yet alike in the one most important need. We all need Jesus.

Each week we pray for the required funds to come in. Some months are leaner than others, which puts our trust to the test. We question if we should adjust the list of expenses, perhaps holding some off until another month.

We feel the urgency of the needs even as the Lord gently and patiently reminds us to wait on Him. Wait until the end of the month. Wait on Him.

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
(Psalm 27:13-14, NLT)

God wants us to put our trust in Him, not in a well-stocked bank account. We must keep our eyes focused on God, our Provider and wait on Him. The lean seasons test us. Will we wait patiently on Him and act in obedience to what He shows us?

So easy to write, and so hard not to let panic set in. But God loves His people more than we do and is teaching us so much, yes, even through numbers on a financial balance sheet.

God reminds me of the way He directed the ravens to bring bread and meat to Elijah by the brook during the drought season (see 1 Kings 17).

“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”
(Romans 15:4, NLT)

God still comes. We need to fill our minds with the Scriptures, because the promises and examples in Scripture fill us with patience and encouragement so that we hold onto hope.

We hold onto hope because our God still provides, still saves, still heals. He still comes to His people when they call upon Him. So we pray and wait.

And as the month closes, we look at our balance and see that God has done it again.

“They are more valuable to Me than the birds.”

The nest continues to grow, piece by piece. And so does our faith.

** This post was originally shared yesterday on The Lulu Tree blog. You can read more this ministry  HERE.

Today I am joining … Tell His Story and Purposeful Faith and Grace Full Tuesday and InstaEncouragements .