GodSprings - 25, May, 2017

Do I Still Doubt He is Able?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Matthew 6:28-30

In April, 2011, Newsweek magazine featured an article about Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie star and former governor of California. An excerpt from the article: Life at 63, for Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a titanic clash between human frailty and dazzling possibility. “I feel terrific about where I am in my life, when I look back at what I’ve accomplished. I feel horrible when I look at myself in the mirror.” It’s a jolt to hear Schwarzenegger – a five time Mr. Universe and seven-time Mr. Olympia, the Terminator, and ultimately Governor musing about his own decay. (Lloyd Grove, “Arnold’s Wild Road Trip” Newsweek 4-25-11)

It is very important for us to understand the logic of Jesus’ teachings. We observed in the last few days that Jesus first shows us our dependence upon God for our very existence, for our food and drink. Then he tells us to look at the birds so that we can have a clearer picture. Yesterday we saw that Jesus is telling us that all our anxiety will not add one thing.

Today Jesus asks us to consider the wild flowers which grow among the grass in the field. Jesus is telling us that we should behold and consider the grass and the lilies of the field. Jesus is wanting us to understand that we are not here forever. If we understand the frailty, we will have no concern about building an empire in this world, obtaining the things of this world, or being concerned with the future.

The text today teaches us our nothingness in self and our dependence upon our heavenly Father by showing that “Solomon in all his glory” was not raised above the lily or the grass of the field. We may be striving for something in this life, but we are like Solomon in all that he had was still like the grass of the field. He was not exalted in any measure above the grass.

If we have the Lord’s blessing on our labours, we wouldn’t have to struggle in our own strength. We must see our need to rest upon the Lord. Sometimes the Lord will bring us to see this by letting us go on and on until we can go no further. Then we see the emptiness.

The parable of the Lost Son is the perfect example for this. The Lord allowed him to go so far that he was eating with the swine, then he came to himself. That was when he returned to his father’s house where there was bread enough for all and some to spare. He understood that he didn’t need to struggle so much, for in his father’s house was plenty.

If we understand our frailty, we can never set our hearts on the things of this earth. Those become insignificant. We are as frail as the grass, yet God cares for it. With this evidence before our eyes of God’s tender care in the smallest things, why would we be anxious about the greater.

Let us pray – Dear Lord, help us to come to the point where we see that our first priority must be our eternal welfare and not to build an earthly kingdom.

GodSprings - 24, May, 2017

Can I Increase My Life Span?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:27

An Indian fable says that a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. Immediately it became afraid of the dog. So the magician turned it into a dog. Immediately it began to fear the tiger. So the magician turned it into a tiger. Immediately it began to fear the hunter. Then the magician said, “Be a mouse again, you have only the heart of a mouse and I cannot help you.”

Yesterday we saw that Jesus was telling us that we should never worry about our food. He is there to take care of our needs. The verse for today further speaks about the second illustration – worrying about our future.

One of the easiest and simplest phrases to say, yet so difficult to live by is “Don’t worry”. Jesus is telling us that we are not going to lengthen our life by worrying on the contrary we might shorten it. We all know that we can’t lengthen but we live in a day where everybody wants to do that.

In the Old Testament it was obedience that lengthened life. When we worry, it is a sign of an unhealthy relationship with God. When we choose God’s agenda instead of the world’s agenda, God will surely and richly bless us.

Anyone can give thanks when the pasture is filled, the fields are beautiful, the work is fulfilling and their health is good. But do we when our crops have failed, the job we worked for years disappears and the company shuts down or when the doctor tells us that we have only a few months to live.

There is an old English proverb that says, “Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere.” Jesus in this verse presets evidence that worry is irreverent as it fails to recognize the God who gave us life and is sustaining it.

Peter was a worrier. He worried about things all the time. He worried about drowning when he was walking on the water, even though the Lord was right there. He worried about the things that were going to happen to Jesus in the garden, pulled a sword and tried to fight the Romans. He worried about Jesus being crucified and told Him not to do that. He was anxious a lot, but finally got the message and wrote in 1 Peter 5:7 a great truth for all of us – Casting all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you. It took him awhile to learn it. But he learned it.

Let us pray – Dear Lord, root out any worry and replace it with faith and trust in you.

GodSprings - 23, May, 2017

Won’t God Take Care of Me?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:26

Dale Carnegie in his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living pens down the story of James Cash Penney who started the J.C. Penney stores. J. C. Penney made some unwise commitments and became very depressed. He worried so much that he developed shingles. He went to see his doctor who admitted him to the hospital, but his condition became worse. One night he was prescribed a sedative that quickly wore off, and he awoke believing that he would die that night. He wrote letters to his family and fell asleep.

He woke up the next morning and was surprised that he was still alive. He heard people singing “God Will Take Care of You” in the chapel and went in. He listened to the singing and message with a heavy heart, but then something happened. He later said, “I realized then that I alone was responsible for my troubles. I knew that God with His love was there to help me.” He said that from that day forward his life was free of worry and I was all because he realized that God would take care of him.

Often we fail to believe that God is going to provide for us, and we worry. Jesus gives us three illustrations in verses 26-30: one from food, one from the future, and one from fashion. Today we will look at the first illustration.

Birds have no ability to reason but God planted within birds something called instinct so that birds are planted with divine capacity to find what is necessary to live.

When Jesus was giving these illustrations many of tend to believe that if this is the case then we need not work. We need to carefully look at them. God never makes a worm rain for the birds. God feeds birds through an instinct that tells them where to find that food. They work for it. There are busy searching around, gobbling up little insects, worms, preparing their nests, caring for their young, and so on. They work hard.

Birds do this by instinct and they never overdo it. They don’t say, “I’m going to build bigger nests. I’m going to store more worms. They work within the framework of God’s design for them, and they never overindulge themselves. The birds just fly. They don’t worry where they’re going to find the food. They just fly until they find it and God provides it. If God gives us the gift of life, then surely God will sustain us.

Let us pray – Dear Lord, help us be more confident that You will provide us with what we need.