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Then Jesus said to his disciples: “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!”

What do you know about Ravens? They are one of the most common birds in existence. There are an estimated sixteen million Ravens in the world, and they can be found almost everywhere. Ravens are not the most beautiful birds to look at. They are smart and dangerous predators and cause problems for humans and other birds alike. There are some who may not miss the Ravens if they were gone. Our world attaches very little value to such birds.

God wants us to know that we have much more value than Ravens. That may seem easy to say but difficult to believe. At this moment, you may not feel so valuable. You may feel like your contributions at work or home are not as valuable as others. You may feel like others don’t see any value in you. In fact, you may feel quite worthless at times. How can God say that we are much more valuable than even a common bird?

He can say that because he has attached tremendous value to you. If we all had price tags attached to us, the amount would be listed as: “priceless.” We have such value because God was willing to send his Son to die for us. Jesus came down to earth to suffer and be crucified. He came to take the punishment we deserved and to remove it from us by dying in our place. In doing this, he has saved us and made us God’s dear children through faith in him.

God says that since you have such value, you need not worry because he will take care of you. If a Raven feels no need to worry about his needs, so much less for you and me. God gave up the thing that he valued most to save us from an eternity of punishment. Now having saved us, he will most certainly continue to watch over us and care for us.

Dear Father in heaven, your love for me in Jesus attaches great value to me. Help me to trust you to provide for me as your dear child. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.