LILIES OF THE FIELD—PART 2

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

While this world provides us endless issues about which to be anxious, the Bible repeatedly commands us not to be anxious. Some of us are prone to the sin of worry more so than others. When I was growing up, I was labelled the “worry wart” of the family. For some reason, that characterization conjured up images of an ugly toad in my young mind. So, while I wasn’t a Christian, being accused of over worrying left a very negative impression on me.

In the above passage, we can see the main contrast is between the temporal versus the eternal. We are not to worry about the things that constitute life here on earth, but we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We are to trust our Father who is in control of all things. I was raised in a home with a father who provided, protected, cared for, and loved his family. How ludicrous it would have been for me as a 3-year-old child to walk around wringing my hands about whether I was going to have food to eat or clothes to put on.

Worry is unbelief, the root of all sin. The opposite of unbelief is faith, or trust in God. It is pride that doubts God is in control and not worthy of our trust. Plainly stated, since God is our Father, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. The sin of anxiety in any given area leads to an abundance of other sins.

It is easy to see throughout Scripture that we are not to be anxious, fearful, or worried. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that it is easier said than done as human beings living in unredeemed flesh. We all have fears and anxieties that we deal with, some more than others. David had fears. Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” Peter acknowledged our anxieties when he told us what to do with them in 1 Peter 5:7. We are to cast all our anxiety on Him. Why? Because He cares for us. Fear and worry are normal for finite human beings. What is sinful is not dealing with these emotions in light of the fact that God is our Father. Do we allow fear to get a hold on our hearts and lean into it leading to many other sins, or do we turn to the promises of a faithful, loving Father whom we trust to work all things for our good? The only answer to fear is to battle the unbelief at its root.

Jesus pointed to two of His creations to make His point regarding the foolishness of worry. The logical conclusion is that surely His very own children are worth more to Him than birds and flowers, and yet He tenderly cares and provides for them. The birds of the air and the lilies of the field fulfill the very purposes for which God designed them. Why did I choose the name Lilies of the Field as the title of this blog? It is a reminder to me not to worry. It’s a reminder to me that I am clothed in the righteous robes of Jesus Christ. Like the lilies of the field, I have been clothed by God. My ultimate purpose is to glorify my Creator. What others need to see in me does not pertain to my outward appearance but the beauty of Christ. It’s a reminder to me to anchor my faith in the eternal and the God who holds me in His loving hands. What have I observed about flowers in my garden? Each flower is created by God with a unique purpose in mind and cared for by God alone. He alone plants the seed and causes them to grow. Each flower is beautifully, exquisitely designed.

When my husband was first told he and his company were being investigated, panic struck in just about every area of my life. I remember a pastor friend giving us the Scripture in 1 Timothy 6:8: If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. In that moment, I wasn’t concerned with being content because I envisioned myself out on the street with no food. In the early stages of that trial, the fight to put my focus on the eternal was a fierce battle. The five years my husband was being investigated, however, God more than showed me His faithfulness to provide every need of my family. After prison, when I had no home to go to, He continued to provide.

From yesterday’s blog post, I relayed my struggles with weight and clothing. But what was the real sin I was struggling with? Fear of people. Fear of being judged by others for how I look, and fear of rejection. These fears all come from the pride of focusing on myself. Instead, I am to walk in love and humility, serving others as I consider them more important than myself.

How do I turn those fears on their head? How do I cast those anxieties on the Lord so that I am not walking in the flesh and according to the world? These fears bombard my soul with lies that must be replaced with the truth of God’s character and His promises. As I replace the false beliefs with truth, I can begin to walk in obedience and faith.

Five years before I entered the ‘prison test’, my only daughter was killed in an automobile accident.  Shortly after that, I began to write a book on what the Lord was teaching me in a time of suffering. The theme that seemed to keep coming up was ‘love’ found in the verses in Matthew 22 where Jesus answers the question of which is the greatest commandment in the Law. He states: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Both themes became very real for me while serving my prison sentence.  

With that background, the realization on my way to church that Sunday hit me hard. How can I walk in love and in service to others if I am more concerned about myself in any way? I can’t be distracted by myself, focused on catering to my flesh, if I’m called to focus on loving Christ and others. I’m to walk in love just as Christ loved me and gave Himself up for me, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Just like the lilies I admire for their God-given beauty growing effortlessly in the field, I want to be a sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. The humble wildflower growing in the field, solely dependent on its Creator for its very life points to God’s glory in creation. As I humbly depend on God for my every need in life, serving and loving others instead of myself, I can be a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing fulfilling my ultimate purpose in love.