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

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