Resting In God's Providence

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. - Matt 6:28-29

Solomon was the richest man in the Old Covenant. Every year, he received 666 talents of gold. According to a research, that would worth about $1,165,766,400 US dollars (more than $1 billion US dollars). His glory exceeded all the kings of the earth.

Yet Jesus said that the lilies of the field are more glorious than Solomon's. Why would Jesus say that?

Because Solomon was living in Old Covenant glory. His riches required hard work and toiling.

"Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." - Ecc 2:10-11 (emphasis added)

The lilies of the field have a different glory. They neither TOIL nor SPIN. They are clothed by the goodness and the glory of God. In other words, they simply rest in the One who provides.

This analogy is parallel to the birds of the air. They neither SOW nor REAP nor GATHER into barn (Matt 6:26). Even the birds rest in God's providence.

The kingdom of God operates differently from the kingdom of the world. In the kingdom of the world, you reap what you sow. In the kingdom of God, you reap what Jesus sowed.

Jesus sowed His life, so that we can reap His reward. This is grace. On the Cross, Jesus became poor, so that we can become rich in Him. The curse of poverty was reversed and the blessing of abundance was released. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

The hardest thing to do is to rest in His Providence. Because every part of us on the inside is screaming to strive harder. We are not of this world, yet the world system is still in us at times. The mind needs continual renewal, especially for us Singaporeans.

When we rest in His providence, we are saying, "Papa, I trust You."

P.S: Resting is not idleness. Resting has to do with the position of the heart.