Spring 2020

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Acouple nights ago, my 6-year-old was weepy and
worried about growing up. She wanted to stay
a kid and live with Mommy forever. As much as I
could sympathize with her desires, I found myself quoting
Matthew 6 to her: “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?...
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither
toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. 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?” My daughter turned to me and tearily asked,
“You mean God loves me more than the flowers?”The sim-
plicity but profoundness of her question struck me.“Yes, He
does,” I replied. Soon after, she fell asleep – happily believ-
ing in the love of her Father. Inwardly, I wondered if I really
believed in the love of my Father. Like anyone else, I wrestle
with anxious thoughts and downright bluey blues. It’s in
times like those that my life doesn’t reflect my faith. It’s in
times like those that I am part of the crowd Jesus rebuked
when He said, ‘’Oh you of little faith!”
Considering the paranoia of today’s society, it is obvi-
ous that lack of faith in a loving God is quite prevalent. You
may be struggling with this very thing. Perhaps you or your
spouse have been laid off work. Perhaps you’re concerned
about the health of your family. Perhaps you’re out of toi-
let paper. Whatever the worry, no matter how big or how
small, remember the loving kindness of your Father. Don’t
you know that God loves you more than the flowers? Don’t
you know that He cares for you more than the birds? Oh
you of little faith! Corrie ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to
trust an unknown future to a known God.” He has made
Himself known to you, and He commands you to have faith.
What then do we do with our anxious thoughts and rest-
less souls? How do we walk in faith? In Elisabeth Elliot’s
words,“Do the next thing.”Go prepare dinner for your fami-
ly, giving thanks for food. Go wash the dishes, giving thanks
for running water. Go read to your children, giving thanks
they are home with you. This is your faith in action; and that
is what God desires. Your feelings may still be anxious and
your heart may still be worried, but I think you’ll find that, in
time, the anxiety is less and the worries are fewer.
So have courage, Dear Heart. The sun will rise again. The
panic will be gone. The worries will be past. And toilet pa-
per will be restocked. But until then, get off your phone and
go live out your faith, for you have a loving Father.
“Now to himwho is able to do far more abundantly than all
that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
to himbe glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21
More Than the Lilies of the Fields
BY LAUREN JOHNSON