Faith vs. Foresight
Been mulling over this message for the past 2 days. It's too 一针见血 for me to swallow it at first. “一针见血” means straight to the point (until it hurts/bleeds [figure of speech]). The orange portion seems to describe my worldview & mindsets to a T.Worrying comes easily to a thinker like JJ. I mean, I don't consciously lapse into worry... it happens naturally. The immediate response to that would be, "Don't worry! The Bible says, do not be anxious... blah..." BUT this message (see violet highlights) warns against making that concern into another task in itself. That's quite a revelation for me.
I must live by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Cor 5:7)!!!
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04/5/05
Faith vs. Foresight
Betsy Childs
In a letter to a friend, Emily Dickinson famously confided that "Consider the lilies" was the only biblical command she had ever faithfully kept. Perhaps only those with the poet's eye keep this instruction as a rule; the rest of us struggle with the command that precedes it: "Do not be anxious." Jesus prescribed consideration of lilies as a remedy for anxiety. Lilies, he told all those listening that day on the mount, do not toil or spin. They are vulnerable and short lived, but they are splendid.
I feel anxious every day. I know that anxiety is not pleasing to God, so I try to rid myself of it. The surest way that I know to get rid of my anxiety is to get rid of my problem. So when I feel anxious, I often start trying to figure out how the problem will be solved. I entertain various hypothetical scenarios of resolution. I ask others for advice. I form a plan of action, lining up the steps I can take to eliminate the problem that is making me anxious.
But this is not the way Jesus taught his followers to deal with their anxiety. Solving your problems is one way of ridding yourself of anxiety, but it does not require faith. Although my anxiety level may be inversely related to my ability to envision the future solution, faith is not the same thing as looking into the future (in fact, it is the opposite). Trusting God is not the same thing as figuring out how God is going to solve your problems.
Jesus pointed out to his followers that birds don't earn their food by sowing and reaping, and neither do we earn God's involvement in our lives by micromanaging them. Anxiety is not a riddle to be solved; we don't earn God's blessing by working out the solution to our problems. No, we give them to Him to work out. God has not given us the future, but he has given us the assurance that He will be there, and that He will attend to our every need.
Let's not be guilty of considering "Do not be anxious" as one more item on our list of things to do. It is not another command to burden us; it is a gift. Jesus told us that we should not be anxious because there is no need to be anxious. God is sovereign over the smallest things. He is working everything for the good of those who love him. When He tells us to cast our cares upon Him, He is telling us that He is willing to bear the responsibility for the outcome.
As a man on this earth, Jesus knew what it was to feel as vulnerable as a lily. He also knew that we would draw strength from considering their fragile beauty as they bask in the sun that has never failed to rise upon them.
posted by Double-J @ 11:36 PM
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