Clothes are important. They cover us up, and make us warm and socially attractive. But clothes can also be expensive. The fashion industry is big business worldwide, but very poor people can hardly afford the most modest of styles and fabrics. However, God knows that we need clothes - after all He killed and skinned animals to clothe Adam and Eve to hide their shame and nakedness (Genesis 3:21).

But Jesus said that God makes beautiful clothing too. The flowers are so skilfully dressed by God's design without having to pay for their fashion accessories. Although they are exquisitely attractive, those flowers have a short life-span and end up as dead blooms on the bonfire. In one way it seems a waste, but they are an object-lesson from God. If He lavishes such beauty on flowers which live for weeks, days or even hours, will He not provide for His people who He loves?

When we worry about not having enough to wear or eat, our problem is that we have a very small faith in God's love for us and His ability to provide for our needs. That is why pagans are obsessed with getting enough of these daily commodities ... because they do not trust God to provide. And yet believers may have a gap between knowing that our Heavenly Father fully understands our situation and cares about our needs, and trusting Him to deliver.

Our human needs are God's opportunities for us to grow in faith; but Satan uses them as his opportunity to sow doubt into our minds and stir up worry so that we despair. The challenge is to believe that God will provide and resist the doubts and worries. It should drive us back to the Bible's description of the character of God: loving, protecting, guiding and providing (which Jesus underlines in these verses). Trusting is only possible as we understand what God is like from the Bible accounts, from the experience of His people and our own interactions with Him. Moving from small faith to large faith depends on being certain of who He is and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).