Grass of the Field

In my neck of the woods, forsythia are bursting into a riot of jubilant yellow. Tulips, violets, daffodils, crocus, hyacinth, and vinca are adding their own unique notes to this visual symphony. Since we live in a northern state, we get to see this transformation each spring, after a winter of white, grey, & brown mud. The wealth of color that spring brings is priceless, made even more so by the preceding months.

I am fortunate to live in a rural area, where the fields are being plowed and baby farm animals are appearing in the fields. My own sheep are acting like lambs again. My chickens are happily pecking the ground & enjoying the springtime. Woodpeckers drum in the woods, and the squirrels are “twitterpating” {remember “Bambi”?}.

As I drove today, I remembered the words of an old song sung by Amy Grant, “Jehovah”:  “Consider the lilies of the field, Solomon dressed in royal robes has not the worth of them. Consider the lilies of the field. He takes after each and every need. Leave all your cares behind, seek Him and you will find your Father loves you so.”

These lyrics mean a lot to me right now, because I’m looking at the possibility of losing my job, and looming {{financial ruin}} {dramatic ta-dum here}.

The riotous jubilation of the springtime reminds me that God has poured out His love on me in so many ways: “But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’…for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” [Matthew 6:30-34]

Thinking on this as I soaked in the beauty of the spring, I also realized that I was falling short. I was letting my fear of the future sap my strength. The fact is, faith and fear are just incompatible. In fact, fear runs & hides when confronted by faith. Ephesians talks about this: “taking up the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.” [Ephesians 6:16]

When I’m going through a challenging time, or my faith is being tested, I need to be sure to protect myself with the tools God has given me: “Take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” [Ephesians 6:13]. With His help, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Stand firm, brothers & sisters!