Remembering the Lilies and the Sparrows
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:25-34
How easy it is to worry about tomorrow. What is the game plan? How will I accomplish this goal? How will I pay for that? Will I make it to this appointment on time? What if they cancel on me? What if I do not know the correct answer? What am I going to eat for lunch? What should I wear? Oh, how the list of questions and simple concerns of life could go on and on.
Over the months, as I have been trying (let that be the key word) to trust the process and let God lead me step by step in the all the transition and change, I have honestly not been much shy of an internally anxious individual. With my incredible ability to cover up so many of my insecurities ;) I have been able to press on like everything is okay, presenting myself, most of the time, as if I have no concerns or worries at all because walking by faith is easy (ha, yeah right). Thankfully, though, God has helped me see that I have been failing to really come to terms with truly trusting Him and believing that He will take care of my every need.
It is easy to quote scripture and to try to ignore the reality, but the whole process of identifying the lie (false belief) in order to put it off in order to put on the truth (God's Word and Promises) is quite a game changer. Some of us are good at identifying the feeling, discovering the lie, and clinging to the truth of scripture which bring about true freedom; however, many of us just stop at acknowledging and never continue on in the action of "putting off" and "putting on." Paul, in Ephesians 4:22-24, he talks to the Church about this need. We are in a constant battle and our minds, emotions, and wills are so easily distracted and susceptible to the ways of the world, darkness, and the evil one (Ephesians 6).
I will admit, I have often quoted all these scriptures and have tried over and over to make myself believe it and do it. And maybe it is because my many attempts and failures that I have finally landed myself in a place of understanding and truly learning how to (and not in my own might) "destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Humility and surrender through prayer.
This looks more than the quick morning 2 minute prayer (although, God can work with that prayer). I have learned it is a true "down on your knees" posture of the heart (and even physically, if possible) confession and repentance - acknowledging the lie and proclaiming the truth, asking for help by the Holy Spirit to walk by His power and in dependence on Him during the day. But I would further say, it should not stop at a morning prayer, because reality is, we are just beginning the day and entering into battle for the day. Dependence, by definition is, "the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else". This means in order to truly walk in dependence, we are to moment by moment take our thoughts captive, examining them according to the Truth of the scripture, and putting off the old, false thought and replacing it with the new, true thought. Again, moment by moment.
Reality is, we are battling our selfish wills and ways, so it takes an incredible amount of discipline, humility, and surrender, and honestly, I really do not believe we will ever do this perfectly this side of Heaven. However, we are called to "be holy as He is Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), so because of the continual work and sanctification of the Holy Spirit, which ought to be changing our desires to be in accordance to His will and holiness, I would venture to say we should pursue holiness at all costs. This simply looks like looking to the Father and living in a manner worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1). Apart from the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, you can never attain any amount of holiness. This is what makes the good news ("gospel") of Christ truly the good news.
According to the world, and even to how our human nature operates, humility and surrender are seen as a weakness. We, humans, are really good at trying to perform, strive, fix, figure out, plan, etc.; we really, really like control and feeling like we "know" exactly how things will happen, when they will happen, what the outcome will be, what the answer is, etc. We struggle with saying "I don't know" or coming to terms with our plans going the way we thought. Many can try to say, "eh, I'm chill and spontaneous; I easily can go with the flow and not be bothered" - and I would agree there is a spectrum and some people are more dependent upon plans, schedules, and goals than others - but I would also like you to take a step back and truly examine how much true peace you walk in, how much freedom and joy mark your life, and how content you are when things don't work out the way you had hoped and said they would. We all struggle with pride and with releasing control. It's scary, and it's uncomfortable. And it is really easy to hide behind the mask that "I am good and not worried about a single thing."
The reason Jesus carries such Good News is because you and I can never have it all figured out or be enough. We are not expected to be in control. The freedom and hope of the Gospel comes with admitting and acknowledging that we do not have all the answers and that we cannot live a life marked of such in our own strength. It is solely by the blood of Jesus Christ and putting our hope and faith (active trust) in Him and His work (Ephesians 2:8-9).
So this lands us back to humility and surrender. Prayer. Confession and repentance (choosing to take the necessary action to change our patterns and behaviors) by trusting Jesus and depending on the power of the Holy Spirit to help you obey.
The Gospel is conditional. Example, if you believe in Jesus and trust/believe that He is the Son of God, then you will have eternal life (John 3:16). In other words, we have a role to play. We can know how to get somewhere down the road, but in order to get there we have to actually get in the car and go.
So then, back to the first thought: the only way to truly walk in obedience to this passage and not worry about tomorrow by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we must find ourselves in a place of humility and surrender. We will then see the fruit of the Spirit will mark our lives; we will have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). And again, this is not by your own doing, but by the power of the Spirit at work within you producing such fruit.
As I have come to face my sin (yet again) of trusting in my own self and abilities, through trying to plan and strategize ministry and figure out how God will provide for all my needs, along with my very real issue of fear of man (exhibited by people pleasing), I have come to the point of "well, I don't know what else to do; maybe I should actually surrender and pray."
I wish I could say prayer has been my first response in much of the day to day living through this transition, in the sense of being able to take every thought captive (every single one of those anxious thoughts, fears, insecurities, etc.) and sharing with God the concerns of my heart because I confidently believe He cares about them; but reality is, God needed me to exhaust myself and come to the end of myself in a way that would teach me how to bring the exact concerns, issues, incapabilities, uncertainties, insecurities, lies, etc., to Him and offer them up as my one and only sacrifice.
"Here I am, Lord. Send me and use me, according to Your good plans and purposes and all for Your glory. I have no plan except to follow You. Please help me to trust and obey, moment by moment. Inconvenience me, that I may come to see You and know You more - Your power, goodness, faithfulness, and glory. I need You, Lord. Oh, how I need you. Do in and through me that of which I could never in my own ability. Amen."
Am I still human? Yes. Will I still struggle? Yes. Perfection is not the goal. Rather, it is intimacy with the Father and simply learning to trust Him moment by moment, knowing and believing that as I (we) continue to seek Him through humility and surrender in prayer, He will lead and convict us accordingly, teaching us how to truly trust and obey - experiencing Him in all things and walking in true hope, peace, and freedom.
My friend, please take time to consider what false beliefs you are living under and ask God to lead you to the truth, that you would take the active step of obedience to take the thought captive and experience the freedom that only comes from the truth.
You are dearly loved, truly seen, and completely known by the Father Himself. He cares for you and is continually pursuing a relationship with you. Accept His invitation and His gift, and then let Him care for you.
Remember the lilies and the sparrows. If God takes good care of them, why would He not take even better care of you?
Soli Deo gloria.
“...If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”