Provision

“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” (Matthew 6:27-29, NASB)

Do you ever find yourself wrapped in the worries of life and cares of this world? Is the weight of tomorrow like a heavy backpack being carried uphill through difficult terrain and you think that if you don’t “tough it out” and keep moving that it will all come crashing down around you? Looking around at the uncertain state of our world it is easy to conclude that unless we “do something” about it all that our very futures are in jeopardy.

Backpacking and the gift of photography allowing me to look back at the memories of beautiful places such as this meadow in the Three Sisters Wilderness of Oregon reminded me today as I found this photo that God allows rest in the middle of what may seem like chaos. This particular place of rest in a beautiful meadow full of foxglove flowers sits in the shadow of what was at one time chaos and violence. It may not seem that way now looking at the photo or even when our group laid down our packs to rest in this place but at one point in history you would not have wanted to stand here. This Western slope of the Three Sisters mountains (named Faith, Hope, and Charity) contains an area that is known as the “Obsidian Limited Entry” area and the reason for this is that this place is covered in obsidian glass from violent volcanic eruptions of these volcanoes in the past. From the violence of the past came a place of beauty and rest due to God’s creative hand.

As these verses in Matthew tell us and from what I observe in this photo of a beautiful meadow of flowers, we should trust God for our provisions and not worry as we do. These flowers thrive because He waters them and allows the sun to fall on them at the right season. The mountains and the meadows are operating in a perfect harmony of nature and the flowers do not need to toil or spin and yet they are glorious.

Take time today to rest in the Lord and hand him your burdens of worry. He is able… we just need to trust and let go.

God Bless and have a wonderful day!