Matthew 6:28-30 “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?”

Good morning!

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! As we begin this week’s devotions, I want to begin with a question: Has worrying about something ever benefited you? In other words, when you get on the other side of the issue, are you glad you spent a crazy amount of time stressing and worrying about it? I assume not… however, the truth is most of us spend a lot of time worrying about what is to come. Worry doesn’t always seem dangerous to us…. I think we underestimate worry because we believe there is a lot worse we could be doing with our time…. right? But the reality of worry is that it weakens us and keeps us from experiencing the freedom that Jesus came to bring while leaving us enslaved to its chains! And as you can see from the past few passages we’ve dissected, Jesus is very much aware of the chains of worry…

In speaking on the worry about clothing, Jesus tells his followers to “consider the lilies, of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”

This may come as a shock to some, but I love flowers. Amanda and I plant tons of flowers, 20k zinnias to be exact, each year. We’re often scanning the clearance aisles, making new flower beds, getting cuttings from hydrangeas, and so on… again, we love flowers! The zinnias always amaze me because they get the least attention of all our plants, and even in this Georgia heat, they come up and display their beauty… it really is amazing!

Over the years, here’s what they’ve taught me. They are willing to be overlooked… They endure being trampled on by our boys after a backyard wiffle ball game as they hunt for their foul balls… yet they are consistent in their contribution of filling vases on our counter or creating bouquets for friends…. Content in sun or rain…. And not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these….

In this verse, Jesus isn’t saying “don’t work hard and don’t get dressed.” Rather, He is asking us to take in the lesson of creation… To see how even the most fragile among us rely on God’s provision and are dressed in just the way that gives Him glory. We see His design for us as we look towards creation. His heart is for us to flourish by being rooted in faith while resting in His promises!

As we begin this week, my hope is that we can put our trust in Jesus and “cast our cares on Him!” Whatever you may face in the days ahead, you don’t have to face it alone. As Bill Gaither reminds us, “Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living, just because He lives!”

– Taylor