Rejoicing in the Lord
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prevent loss and disaster. Do all you can on your part to bring about
favorable results. Jesus has promised His aid, but not apart from our
effort. When, relying upon our Helper, you have done all you can,
accept the result cheerfully.
It is not the will of God that His people should be weighed down
with care. But our Lord does not deceive us. He does not say to us,
“Do not fear; there are no dangers in your path.” He knows there are
trials and dangers, and He deals with us plainly. He does not propose
to take His people out of a world of sin and evil, but He points them
to a never-failing refuge. His prayer for His disciples was, “I pray
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not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou
shouldest keep them from the evil.” “In the world,” He says, “ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 17:15
;
16:33
.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught His disciples precious
lessons in regard to the necessity of trusting in God. These lessons
were designed to encourage the children of God through all ages, and
they have come down to our time full of instruction and comfort. The
Saviour pointed His followers to the birds of the air as they warbled
their carols of praise, unencumbered with thoughts of care, for “they
sow not, neither do they reap.” And yet the great Father provides for
their needs. The Saviour asks, “Are ye not much better than they?”
Matthew 6:26
. The great Provider for man and beast opens His hand
and supplies all His creatures. The birds of the air are not beneath
His notice. He does not drop the food into their bills, but He makes
provision for their needs. They must gather the grains He has scattered
for them. They must prepare the material for their little nests. They
must feed their young. They go forth singing to their labor, for “your
heavenly Father feedeth them.” And “are ye not much better than they?”
Are not you, as intelligent, spiritual worshipers, of more value than
the birds of the air? Will not the Author of our being, the Preserver of
our life, the One who formed us in His own divine image, provide for
our necessities if we but trust in Him?
Christ pointed His disciples to the flowers of the field, growing in
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rich profusion and glowing in the simple beauty which the heavenly
Father had given them, as an expression of His love to man. He
said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.” The beauty and
simplicity of these natural flowers far outrival the splendor of Solomon.