by Denny Hook

Tuesday was a perfect day to be outside. It was in the mid 70’s with full sunshine. I think people are tired of being cooped up inside and were antsy to move about. I didn’t know there were so many dogs in our neighborhood, and it seemed like everyone was walking theirs at the same time. I’m thinking that normally people would be at work, but because of the virus, they now have time to take walks. There were kids walking, skateboarding, riding bikes and playing in their yards. Even teenagers were outside. I guess video games and TV gets boring after a while. It was not unusual to see entire families pushing a stroller and having other little ones walking along beside. There were a lot of cars moving about and you could hear the distant roar of a Harley or two. Lucy made the comment that maybe they’re just taking a drive to get some fresh air. We opened our windows to allow some fresh air inside our house. She asked me to get a lawn chair out of the shed so she could sit on the deck in the sun and read her Bible. I backed the car out of the garage and gave it a well deserved hand washing. When I finished, Lucy was sound asleep. I quietly woke her up and sat on the steps nearby. We talked a bit, and it was then that I noticed them. Looking at the flower bed in front of our living room window I exclaimed, “Hey honey, look, the flowers (daffodils) are almost in full bloom!”  She wasn’t really surprised as her answer was, “I know, they’ve been that way for a couple days.” It’s amazing the things you notice when you slow down and take the time to look around you.

There is so much attention and focus on the COVID-19 virus. It dominates the headlines constantly with positive cases and body counts. Whether it’s newspapers, radio, TV, online, Facebook, Twitter and mail; our basic conversations have switched from talking about the weather to the virus. Ventilators, masks, social distancing, testing, shelter at home, hand sanitizer, quarantine, flatten the curve are a few of the new buzz words. I’m tired of seeing that background image portraying the virus. You know, that round planet looking thing with protrusions everywhere. It reminds me of the Bumble Ball toy that was popular years ago. You turn it on, put it on the floor, and it bounces wildly hitting everything and creating chaos.

Wednesday was 20 degrees cooler than Tuesday, and there was no sunshine. It was raining and dreary, the kind of day that can get you down, and you feel like going back to bed and sleeping all day. I woke up and sat on the edge of the bed pondering what I would do to keep myself occupied. As soon as I stood up and my feet touched the floor, I heard that still small voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “Consider the Lilies.”  Instantly, I knew what that was in reference to. I made my morning coffee, sat down and opened my Bible to Matthew 6:28-34. (NKJ) (Jesus speaking) “So why do you worry about clothing? 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? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Our natural tendency when we face uncertainty is to worry. We want to know what’s next, and if we’ll have enough. Maybe it’s food and its availability, or money to buy it with and pay our bills. I don’t think many of us are lacking for clothes, but not having enough toilet paper has crossed our minds I’m sure. What if we get sick? What if I lose my job permanently? What if I lose my health insurance? What about my kids and school? All these and other “What ifs” can cause us to worry and fear. In all this Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry, trust me, seek God first, and your needs will be met.”

The root cause of worry is when we feel out of control of a situation and our inability to change it. Sometimes that can cause us to also get angry. Psalm 37:8 says, “Do not fret, it only causes harm.” I looked up the word “fret” in the dictionary. Its meaning involves anger, fraying, to gnaw at, irritated, to chafe away, to utter peevish expressions, vexation, to be disturbed and agitated. My interpretation is: A person who is coming apart at the seams. Given the current pandemic, that can be easy to do for a lot of people. Jesus still says, “Don’t worry.” Someone may say, “Easy for you to say Jesus, you don’t know what I’m going through.” Ah, but He does! He walked on this earth as God taking on the form of a man. He identified with people and experienced their sufferings in times far worse than these today. Our hardships can’t even compare to the agony and pain He experienced when dying on the cross, and He did that for us. He has compassion for the hurting and sick, the poor, the homeless, the lonely, the grieving, the hopeless, the worried, the fearful, and even the unbeliever and doubter. He’s waiting for you to call on Him to intervene in your life. He will take care of you just as He does the lilies. The expression, “Don’t worry, be happy”, is not in the Bible, but can truly be realized if you’re trusting in Jesus. If you want to learn how, keep scrolling through my previous posts and I’ll tell You.