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fact he perceives clearly that God, his heavenly Father, will give him his daily bread and such
worldly good things as are profitable and needful for him. Accordingly, though the true Christian
toils and strives hard to gain his bread, using the powers and abilities which God has given him as
means of support for himself and his family, yet he recognizes that every blessing 1
comes from his heavenly Father, and, therefore, with regard to food and clothing and all other
necessaries, he casts all his anxieties 2 upon God, knowing that He taketh thought for
him. He thus obeys the command of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who has said in the Gospel: 'Be 3
not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment. Behold the birds of
the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father
feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one
cubit unto his stature? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which
today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
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THE RESULTS OF SALVATION
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more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, 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 his
kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore
anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.'
The true Christian feels confident that his heavenly Father cares so much for him that, whatever
trouble or suffering befalls him, no harm can happen to him, and no one can injure him in any way
except with the permission of the Most Merciful God, who permits it only for his good. This
confidence is founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ's own teaching, for He Himself says: ' Are 2
not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your
Father: but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value
than many sparrows.' Because of this sure trust in the living God, the true Christian is brave and
courageous in suffering and adversity. Nor is his trust and self-surrender at all like those of
people who submit to what they call fate or destiny, because they are convinced that it does not lie
in their power by any device to change
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