“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt.6:30) A simple statement of Jesus, and yet it is such a puzzle to us because we will not be allow the meaning to be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word. When we learn to simply trust in Jesus and His word life and the important things in life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field …” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship with the Father right? “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” (Matt.13:22) Every time we think we know better than God, every time we allow the “cares of this world” to enter in and forget about the heavenly and spiritual things, we lose ground in our fellowship with God.
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:26) The birds, their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus says, if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt.6:28-30) The flowers grow where they are planted. Many people refuse to grow where God plants them. Many do not have any stability – they do not take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would simply obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Jesus Christ would not lie to us, it is not within His character to do so. The question is really not if Jesus would lie or break a promise to us. The question is am I in fellowship with God and if so is that fellowship right? Am I obeying the word and looking to the spiritual things of life rather than cluttering my mind with confusing thoughts and worries about this life?
Jesus identified the problem in His sermon, did you catch it? The problem is always the same. It has always been the downfall of mankind and the root of every problem since God created man. “O you of little faith.”A lack of faith will separate us from the fellowship we need with God. Faith is the beginning and end of living right with God. Faith is the means by which we trust in God and His ability to care for us even when there is no reason for hope. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6) God’s word is written very plain and clear – “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” And God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” That means to experience the blessings of God that Jesus has promised we need to be people of faith. Not worried about things of the day, things of nest week, even things next month or year. That means we need to focus on things of a spiritual nature and follow our spiritual (Godly) instincts.
How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? How many times have we ask God for something we know is not really the best thing for us? How many times have we found ourselves looking to something in the world over something of God? We need to strive to consecrate our lives to the Lord and to His will – not ours. Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not something we do once and then live as we once did. It is a continual process that we must be diligent with every day of our lives.
Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life? Think about it!!! Mike