I wonder how many things you can count?

Take a moment to count how many books you can see right now.

What about how many things that are red in your room – can you count all of those?

Why not try and count how many breaths you take in a minute.

I’m pretty sure you were able to count all of these things easily – but how about this one: can you count how many hairs are on your head?

I think that even if you were to count all day, you’d still be counting by evening. We have so many hairs on our heads, and they change all the time. Some fall out, some grow. By the time you’d finished counting, the number could have already changed.

But did you know that the Bible says God knows how many hairs are on your head? That’s how much notice He takes of us – we are precious to Him. Jesus was speaking to his followers when he said this:

When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it.  God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.

Matthew 10:29-31

He knew his followers were soon going out into a difficult situation, but he wanted to remind them that there was nowhere they could go without God knowing and caring. Thats how much they mattered to God! So if they were worried or scared, they could trust God to be there and to help them through.

I wonder if you’ve ever been in a difficult situation? Or have you been in a time when you have felt worried or scared?

Perhaps you are feeling worried or scared at the moment. I hope that this verse in the Bible can help you today. Jesus tells us that God knows all about us, there is no challenge we face, no situation we are in that He doesn’t know about. But it’s not just a case of knowing, He cares about us too. Sparrows are tiny, in Jesus’ day they were sold for just half a penny. But Jesus tells us that God cares about each and every one of them. And if God cares that much about a tiny little bird, how much more does He care about you!

So today, perhaps you want to let someone who cares about you know your worries or fears so that they can help you. It’s great to share our concerns with those who care for us, it can help lighten our hearts and lift some of our worries.

And Christians believe that God cares about us so much He sent Jesus to Earth for us! So you might want to give your worries and fears to Him, knowing that he cares for you. You can do that in lots of different ways. You can tell him in a prayer, write them down, draw them, sing them in a song to Him, create something and talk to Him while you do so. We can always ask God for help because he cares for us.

Here’s a craft that you might want to do to help remind you of what we thought about today:

Coin rubbings

All you need is: some paper, some pencils or crayons and some coins.

Take a coin and place it underneath your paper.

Using a pencil or crayon, rub over the coin – taking care not to rub so hard as to break through the paper! You should start to see the pattern of the coin appear. You might need to hold the coin in place so it doesn’t slip around.

You can try all shapes and sizes of coin. Why not try different arrangements.

Finally, hang it up somewhere to remind you how much God cares for you.

Have fun!