Consider Christ

There's an old hymn I'm sure many of you are familiar with titled, "Consider the Lilies." The lyrics read:

Consider the lilies, they don't toil nor spin

And there's not a King with more splendor than them

Consider the sparrows, they don't plant nor sow,

But they're fed by the Master who watches them grow.

We have a Heavenly Father above with eyes full of mercy and a heart full of love.

He really cares when your head is bowed low. Consider the lilies and then you will know.

I wonder, how often do we pause to consider creation? How many times do we look up at the sky and say, "that's beautiful." Or, how many times do you look up at the stars to try and count them? I'm sure many of you probably did this as children, but what about today? In your older age do you still pause to consider the beauty of the world around you?

I think sometimes we just take what we have for granted. Or, we're so busy in the throws of life that we forget how to really be present in nature. Our minds are too busy running from thought to thought that we don't ever remember to sit still. Or, we don't think to quiet our minds and still our hearts. What's more, we just wrestle with our thoughts & worries so much so we forget to take our concerns to God. We struggle, we worry, we scratch our heads wondering will this ever work out? but we never consider The One who made everything we see & feel. We never sit down to breathe all of His creation in.

I wonder how different our troubles/problems might be if we spent more time at the feet of Jesus than in our spiraling thought patterns stuck within our heads. If we devoted more of our time to the Lord, we might come to the conclusion that our troubles aren't as bad as they seem to appear. We might also find that we have no reason to worry over things we essentially cannot control. It's no use, there's simply no point to it at all.

And then I wonder, how much happier we would be if we took the words to the hymn, "Consider the Lilies," to heart. Maybe we wouldn't be so caught up in our own selves and problems that we'd actually be able to hear what Christ is trying to teach us.

For me, that looks like having faith & believing that God is still good no matter what. It's not getting upset over the fact that I have some boxes left unchecked in my life. It's coming to the full conclusion that ultimately Jesus knows everything there is to know about me, and because He knows these things, I have all the more reason to trust Him.

It is considering the lilies and watching them grow. God simply waters them, tends to them, and they bloom. They don't will themselves to achieve a position or prize amongst their pre-established place. They don't worry if they are growing fast enough. They are unconcerned with who they're growing next to. They simply just grow, while God gives them everything they need in order to do so.

Considering the lilies is learning to be like the lilies, learning to rely on Christ & be completely dependent on Him for everything, and, it is learning to be okay with what He provides. No wonder then that this type of spiritual growth requires contemplation... because it's such a hard thing to achieve. Patience is a virtue, and growth doesn't always happen overnight, but the point is: growth happens regardless. The lilies grow & God still takes care of them, day in & day out. So, if God can take care of and tend to a world full of 7 billion or more lilies, what makes you so sure that He can't take care of you, or your needs? What need do you have that is so great our God cannot handle it, or see to it that it gets met? These are questions I have to ask myself daily.

Moreover, Matthew 6:30 reads

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

That is to say, if God can care for the smallest of plants, if He can make the ground wet or dry, if He can fill the earth with all kinds of living creatures, what can He not do for you? How is it that He's able to care for all of the earth, but not care for you? Do you see how ridiculous you & I both sound when we begin to question God's provision? I mean as Believers, it's crazy to think that we can put our faith in God with our eternity and home in Heaven, but we cannot put our faith in God as far as our future is concerned on earth. Yet, we do it all the time. We trust God with some things, but we're not sure about others. We cap God in because we don't have enough faith in Him to do as He promised. We either let fear control our hearts and minds or we let ourselves get carried away from God amidst the hustle & bustle of life.

We forget that He's been taking care of us all this time. He's been covering our messes & mistakes & providing our meals all these years. Surely, did we really think that He'd quit being God now? No, never! Because His character is unchanging, He cannot cease to be anything other than the God He is, the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God. El Shaddai - God Almighty and El Roi - The God who sees me. That God, that God is the One who never walks away. He always provides because He already knows what you need before you need it. He's just waiting to see whether you'll let him meet those needs in himself. That's why Matthew 6:31-33 goes onto say,

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Truthfully, the greatest need we will ever have is the need for a Savior, a need for someone who is holy, pure and who is always kind & loving to redeem and restore us from our sinful nature. This need for Christ surpasses all other needs we may ever have in our lifetimes. The question is, will we rest in Christ to meet all of our unanswered questions, check all of our boxes, and provide for all of our finances, concerns, &/or worries? He is faithful and ever so trustworthy, and we are ignorant and impotent people to think that the Lord could not deliver or provide our hearts' deepest longings or meet our greatest needs. For in the end, all we'll ever need is Christ, and Christ will always hold us up. May we always remember to find our rest in Him and seek His Kingdom first. :)

"For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Hebrews 13:3

Much love,

Hailey Renee