Corona Devo 173

The other day we got to enjoy the visual happiness of visiting one of those huge sunflower fields.  

Perhaps you've driven by one of these fields, and had all of the brown faces with golden manes smile at you as you whizzed by, their heads nodding slightly in the breeze.

We got up close and were able to walk through the carefully planted rows of thick green stems, which held these gorgeous sunflowers.  You could almost feel a sunny power pulsing through the field, radiating from these bright and beautifully dressed flowers.  At that moment, I couldn't think of anything more pretty.

And then there is us--we wake up in the morning and begin a necessary routine of making ourselves "beautiful" for the day.  It might be as simple as brushing your teeth and grabbing a shower, but often there are many more steps in the beautification process, and in the end, I never come close to comparing to the simple beauty of a sunflower.  

But we worry about it, don't we?  We worry about the products, and the outfit and the smoothing and the matching.  There can be a lot of stress happening in our days before we even leave the bedroom and bathroom! 

And then there are different worries to tackle, like jobs to go to (inside or outside of our homes), bills to pay and kids to raise.  Never mind the social decisions and political divisions and relationship rollercoasters that dart in and out of minds and days.  We have a lot going on.  And for many of us, we have a lot of worry going on. 

But the Lord doesn't want us distracted and depressed and distressed by the worry and the decisions of day to day life.  He created us, and He sees us as beautiful just as we are, and He reminds us that we will stress less if we leave the details up to Him.  He has our lives covered, and we can take our cues from nature, whom he also has covered:  

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ~Matthew 6:28-33

It's super-hard to just say, "Don't worry", and then have it happen.  We are used to worrying.  Some of us are professionals at it, and it takes up much of our day and much of our minds.  But worry is not trust.  Worry is pretty much the opposite of trust, and it steals our joy instead of allowing us to blossom in God and His plans for us.  Often, worry chokes the blossoms out of our days.  

The Lord gives us flowers as an example--they are planted, they sprout and blossom for a short time, and then they die.  Their "lives" are much shorter than ours, but God's plan and process for them has purpose and also beauty.  He didn't have to make flowers beautiful, but our Lord has zest.  He paints rainbows in the sky and stripes on zebras and He also made the golden beauty of sunflowers--just because.  The rainbow doesn't worry about which colors God will place next to each other and a zebra doesn't wish it was black with white stripes instead of white with black stripes.  These created things are just as God made them, and they are good with it. 

We are just as God made us, and if we can learn to relax and be "good with it", then the worry will waft away and our stress will be less.  

Stare at a flower in bloom, or a dog sleeping or a tree losing it's leaves.  There are cycles to life, and nature knows to just take-them-as-they-come.  How many seasons of life must we go through before we also grasp that simple truth?  The animals and plants are much less important to God than us (His word says so), and yet God takes care of these things in great detail. 

Take heart and hope and joy in the fact that God cares about every detail of our lives too! 

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ~Matthew 6:33

Be reminded today that God sees us with more splendor than a field of blossoming flowers.  We can't let worry steal our internal beauty and peace.  God's got us, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33).  

Let's cut the weeds of worry and bloom for him today!

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com