Lilies of the Field

 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (Matthew6:27-31)

 

 

The chiropractor/alternative medicine practitioner we go to is also a friend. He is a very skilled diagnostician who never ceases to amaze me with his ability to put his finger right on what is wrong with me.

I have been in pain for several months but had been putting off going to see him. He is 45 minutes away so it isn’t always convenient to get there but I couldn’t stand it anymore. My shoulders were hurting so much I was starting to have trouble sleeping.

I knew it was going to be a good day when I only had to wait about 15 minutes to get in to see him. They had graciously squeezed me into his schedule so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have an old injury that keeps my body somewhat out of alignment – the knee compensates for the foot, the hip compensates for the knee, the back doesn’t like it when the hips realign, and the shoulders top it all off. But this was different and I knew it, it just wasn’t the same old stuff.

Well, he adjusted me starting at the feet, worked on the legs, then he realigned the elbows and I started to feel some relief. But the shoulder blade area was still painful. He sprayed me with one of his own concoctions called “Loosen’ Up” and I had an immediate ability to move without pain. From there he could finish the adjustment without listening to me scream!

When he finished he said something to the effect of, “You know better than this.”  “Than what?” I asked. “Consider the lilies of the fields!” He said knowing I am a Christian and would know the reference.

I was rebuked by a man who knows his Bible and what the symptoms I have been carrying around resulted from. There has been some stress in my life. I have tried to give it to the Lord knowing I cannot change one thing, I am on the outside looking in. It is not my job to fix it! Apparently I was giving my shoulders the impression that I could, and I wasn’t!

This man was a faithful friend to remind me that I was not trusting God as I teach others to do all the time. I say He is my refuge but I am obviously trying to carry some of the burden that I could give to HIM. I know the verse from 1 Peter 5 that tells me to cast all my anxiety on the Lord because He cares for me. I really thought I had. I will do it again. How comforting to know that this command is in the Bible. God made us so He knows how we deal with anxiety and will need this reminder from time to time.

As I was driving home I was asking God to show me what I had not let go of. My conclusion is that I still want to fix things. It’s a bit of a pride problem thinking that anyone else would listen to what I think and implement my remedies. I need to do what God calls me to do and let Him deal with those that He has called to do other things.

In the meantime God has not condemned me for falling into the trap of anxiety about what’s happening in my life. He has called it to my attention through the caring act of a medical professional who knows God’s Word. In His grace He is showing it to me so I can confess it, He will forgive it, and I can move beyond it. I am a little concerned that I will take it back and be in the same position a few days or weeks from now. Even then I know that our faithful heavenly Father will – again – forgive me. Hopefully by then He will have shown me more of His action and I will see Him at work. He does a much better job at these things than I do. But, I know that He may want me to wait.

Psalm 118:8 says, It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. This made me think of King David when Nathan the profit confronted him about his sin with a story about a man who took something that wasn’t his. Nathan said to David, “You are that man.” As I read this verse from Psalm 118 it was if God were saying to me, “Beth, you are that man that you’ve been trusting in. It would be better to trust in Me!”

I have experienced some relief from the physical pain today and for that I am very grateful. But, as He often does, God has given me this spiritual reminder to go with it. He is the only One who can relieve spiritual pain – though He might use others to help us see His grace and mercy.

Psalm 55:22, Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.