Our Daily Bread Designs Forum Bible Verse Thursday Challenge #84 - Five Things We Can Learn From Lilies

"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.   But if God so clothes the grass

of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,

will He not much more clothe you?  Ye of little faith!"

~Matthew 6:28-30

FIVE THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM LILIES
1.  Lilies are the planting of God and not man.  God will supernaturally and by His grace plant beautiful things in unexpected places.  Lilies of the field: The word may include other wild flowers.  Point being they spring up where man has not planted them, and they are not weeds, and they bring beauty to the strangest of landscapes.  All is not sowing and reaping.  God does beautiful things according to the riches of His grace.


2.  The study of Lilies has proven to be good for the heart.  In this scripture verse Jesus uses the observation and study of the lily as a remedy for worry.  Scientists who study the chemical composition of the plant we know as the Lily of the Valley derived from it a substance called Convallatoxin.  Convallatoxin is similar to medicine digitalis, it is mainly used for acute and chronic heart failure.  I think that it is more than a coincidence that Lily of the Valley produces a medicine that is good for your heart health. Scientists have found strong links between worry, stress, and a narrowing of the arteries of the heart.  Worry is bad for you, learning from Lilies spiritually and actually is good for your heart health.

3.  Lilies are hardier than you think.  So are you.  Lilies can grow in deserts and extremely high and cold places.  The environment in which you live does not determine whether or not you will bloom, but the person you are inside determines that.  Better yet, the God who is inside you (if you are a Christian), can bloom in any environment.  You make not like to hear this, but you can have a lot of garbage thrown at you and still be a beautiful fragrance of Christ.  In the worst of places you can be an oasis of His refreshing presence. 

4.  God has placed within Lilies the principle of life.  You can make a comeback.
Have you ever grown lilies?  Right now a small garden in my lawn is sadly overgrown with them - they've taken over and I really need to get them thinned out.  They're even escaping the garden surround and growing out into the lawn.  Some in the most awkward of places.  My husband's rule is that if it's not in the garden and it's green - it gets mowed.  Yet every year no matter how viciously we cut them down they come back in the spring.  It is called the principle of life, and the fact of the matter is that the principle of life is greater than the principle of death.  This is the answer to Paul's great dilemma in Romans chapter 7. The sinful nature does exist but the resurrection life in Christ is greater!

You may be down but you are not out.  You may be buried but you will be resurrected. 


5.  You can expect regular seasons of refreshing and revival, and your needs will be met.  God waters the lily and provides it with such nutrients as it needs.  It doesn't get those things by worrying, but by the gracious provision of an all powerful God.  The lily is just a short lived decoration on earth, but when we look at the beauty, care and genius that God employed to create them we can extrapolate a wonderful faith building lesson: If God would put so much care into something that is a throw away item, how much more will He act on behalf of those He loved so much He sent His son to die for them!  When you want something to last you build it more durable, you use greater care with it.  That is the main lesson of the lily.  God put a lot of care into a decoration, He puts a lot more care into the people that He wants to fill His house.


~~~

Your challenge this week is to create a project using this scripture or another verse that reminds you not to worry, God will provide.  When uploading your project, please use keyword ODBDBVT84 and then hop on over to Our Daily Bread Designs Forum and share it with us!

Blessings,

Supplies for this project
Cardstock:  Truly Yours - White Card Base; Bazzill - Sprout, Baby Blue Dark
Decorative Paper:  Basic Grey - LilyKate (Pansy)
Inks, Stains, Paints, Colored Pencils, Etc:  Versifine Ink - Onyx Black; Memento Ink - Pear Tart; Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils
Stamps:  Our Daily Bread Designs - Lily of the Valley, Fancy Labels
Accessories & Other Stuff:  American Crafts Ribbon; Ranger Distress Stickles - Clear Rock Candy