Day 57: Jesus, You Do Everything Well

Do you ever find your trust in the Lord wavering with the tide of your circumstances? And then, your need for control kicks in and you fall into full-blown worry? Think about the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-33. Again and again, He says “Do not worry…” He says, “Look at the birds…your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?…See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.” When the people watched Jesus in action, effectively turning lives upside down as He healed and taught, they were “overwhelmed with amazement” and said, “He has done everything well.”

I recently read a little story in Streams In The Desert about two monks who each planted a tree. One monk told the Lord exactly how to take care of it, asking for each provision—first rain for growth, then sun, and finally frost to hopefully make it stronger. Well, at the end of all the monk’s constant control, the tree died one evening. The monk sought the advice of another monk, and shared his strange experience. His friend replied, “I, too, planted a little tree, and see! It thrives well. But I entrust my tree to God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means. I prayed Lord, send what it needs—storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.”

As I think about that little story, I realize that many times I am like the first monk, laying out exactly what I think is the best way for the Lord to accomplish His plan and purpose. In quiet time, He helps shift my focus away from circumstances and control, to dependence on Him and eyes fixed on Him. The Holy Spirit knows exactly where I need help and He faithfully and daily, moment by moment, transforms me into a woman who trusts Him. But I am definitely in process. For many times, I try to jump into the pilot’s seat, thinking I know best. I love the words of the second monk in the story, when he says, “But I entrust my tree to God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me.” That’s essentially what Peter said, when he exhorted believers to “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

I often think about a time when Corrie ten Boom enjoyed the hospitality of a friend in a beautiful home. And for a brief moment, she entertained the thought of how wonderful it would be if she could have a home like that. The Lord had called her to travel throughout the world as His spokesman telling all who would listen that “With Jesus, even if the worst happens, the best remains, and His light is brighter than the deepest darkness.” Because of God’s plan for her at that time, she was, as she called herself, “a tramp for the Lord.” And so, in that brief moment, in the comforts of a home, she imagined what it might be like to have earthly security and stay in one place. And then, she caught herself, and turned to what she knew was true and spoke that truth out loud, “Lord, You do everything well.”

Today, I am finding comfort in knowing that the Lord is working out a plan and purpose in my life even if I don’t always understand the finer details of my daily circumstances. I’m going to be like that second monk and “entrust my tree to God.”

Yes, leave it with Him,
The lilies all do,
And they grow-
They grow in the rain,
And they grow in the dew-
Yes, they grow;
They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night-
They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light-
Still they grow.

Yes, leave it with Him,
‘Tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
Than the lilies that bloom,
Or the flowers that start
‘Neath the snow;
Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer,
You can leave it with Him-for you are His care.
You, you know
–Selected from Streams In The Desert

My Response: Lord Jesus, thank You that You do everything well. Today, I cast every care on You and trust You to care for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.