When things seem bad, what should we believe about our situation?  God expects us to have an intrinsic trust in the universe, and to know without a doubt that everything will be all right.

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-27).

When a bird wakes up in the morning, he does not wonder about where he is going to get food.  He just expects it to be there.  And God always puts it there.  He may have to hunt for it, search through the grass for bugs or seeds, but it's always there.  He doesn't doubt it's there.  He knows, and just keeps searching until he finds it.

I expect my life to turn out all right.  I expect to always have food, or to always be given what I need when I need it.  And the universe always provides this, if I just don't get discouraged and close down the part of me that is always watchful for those blessings.

But, you might say, "Things DON'T always turn out all right."  But they can.  We are responsible for our own outcome.  If we look at our situation and don't see the outcome we want, it's not because the outcome is not AVAILABLE to us, it's because we didn't find it.

The bird hops out to the lawn.  He starts searching.  There ARE seeds and insects out there to eat, but it's a large lawn, and it may take him a while to find them.  But they ARE there.  They are available.  It just requires patience and perseverence on the part of the bird, and trust that they are there.  He doesn't give up until he has gotten a meal.  And he doesn't give a second thought to whether or not there really IS food in the grass.  He has an unwaivering faith.

AND.....we don't have to deserve or try to earn food, clothing and shelter.  The bird doesn't do anything to earn his food, he deserves it just because he exists.  Yes, he has to go out to pick it up, but he doesn't have to grow it himself or do some difficult task to get it, because he exists, it is provided for him.

God has set up the universe in such a way that all needs are met.  All materials needed are available.  He expects us to trust that they are there, and open our eyes to the possibilities of how to get them. There is no need to despair, for all is there.