A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 

GOD GIVES GOOD GIFTS     

Matthew 7:9-11 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” 

As I have written previously, Jesus often used hyperbole to make a point. Today’s devotional verse is one of those occasions. Can you imagine any father giving his child a stone in place of a piece of bread? Or, worse yet a snake instead of fish? There is no way a father, even one that is not a good one, would do such things. 

The Children of Israel accused Yahweh of not being a good father when He led them into the wilderness. Remember how they accused Him of leading them into the desert to die? And, they also were unhappy with the diet God provided them when He sent manna every morning to feed them. Further, they did not trust God when they became thirsty. Yet, God forgave them for their lack of faith and trust in Him. He added quail to their diet. He provided water from a bare rock. 

How many times have you acted out like the Children of Israel, not trusting God. He has promised to provide all you need to support your body and life. He knows exactly what you need and also how much. Again, remember if the Children of Israel gathered more manna than they needed for the day it spoiled?   

God provides for your physical, earthly needs. He causes the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. He provides the seasons that are needed for crops to grow and a harvest in due time. With all the fear and panic of climate change, global warming, etc., is God absenting Himself from the world, leaving the human race to figure it all out and the government to take over His place? Hardly! God remains God! He is still in charge of the universe. God is faithful! “. . . if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)  

Prayer: Thank You, Dear Father, for providing all we need to support our lives and especially for giving us Jesus to save our souls. In His Holy Name. Amen. 

For the fruits of His creation, Thanks be to God.    
For His gifts to ev’ry nation, Thanks be to God.  
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,   
Silent growth while we are sleeping  
Future needs in earth’s safekeeping, Thanks be to God. 

In the just reward of labor, God’s will is done.  
In the help we give our neighbor, God’s will is done.  
In our world-wide task of caring   
For the hungry and despairing,  
In the harvests we are sharing, God’s will is done. 

For the harvests of the Spirit, Thanks be to God.  
For the good we all inherit, Thanks be to God.  
For the wonders that astound us,  
For the truths that still confound us,  
Most of all, that love has found us, Thanks be to God. 

For the Fruits of His Creation - LSB 894