Consider the Lilies

And Jesus said to his Disciples,  "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious and troubled with cares about your life, as to what you will eat, or about your body, as to what you will wear... Consider the ravens:  they neither sow nor reap... and yet God feeds them.  Consider the lilies, how they grow.  They neither toil not spin or weave: yet, I tell you, that not even Solomon in all his splendor was arrayed as one of these... And you, do not seek what you are to eat and drink; nor be of anxious mind, unsettled, excited, worried and in suspense; for all the pagan world is greedily seeking these things; and your Father in heaven knows that you need them." Lk 12

So much of my life is reflected in the Apostle Peter.  His eagerness to please God, his failures,  His zeal and fire, his stubbornness, his willingness to obey and his lack of faith, all rolled into one!  I have the sense, most days, that God bids me to come on the water and as I start out walking on it, like Peter, I look away from the One who bid me to come, and I begin to sink.    So often, I hear the voice of my Lord saying "o ye of little faith".    My comfort in all of this is that God Himself is the author and finisher of my faith and that Jesus is my intercessor.

Lk 22:32   Jesus speaking to Peter says, "But I have prayed especially for you (Peter) that your own faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren.
In at least 3 translations of this text, Peter's name is put in parenthesis.  I can't help but think that it is no accident.  I can't help but wonder if God knew that we would so identify with this man, that  we could insert our own name in that parenthesis. 

What is it about the human condition that causes us to have momentary lapses in faith?  in judgement? in self-control?   Why do we continuously look to ourselves, rather than keeping our focus on God?   As I pour through the Scriptures, it is evident that people throughout history, have done this very thing.  We seem to think so much of ourselves, that we truly believe( and demonstrate by our actions) that God needs our help in making His promises come to pass. 

Abraham (the Father of our Faith) is a perfect example of this, and believe me there are tons of examples!  God promises he and his wife Sarah a son.  Sarah basically says, "yea, right!" and Abraham, the Bible reports, Believes God and holds the promise in his heart.  Commendable, right?  But after a while, Sarah convinces Abraham to take her maid-servant and lay with her and get her pregnant.  Now, this is just wrong on so many levels.  It would be a cold day in hell before I told my husband (not that I have one) to take up with another woman!  But, as a woman, I kind of get this; in that she probably felt some type of guilt for not being able to produce the son for Abraham.  We women and our guilt!   OK, so Sara lacked faith--we kind of knew that going in; but Abraham had to have lacked faith also.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  He is just a guy, and guys think differently, especially when it comes to sex, and blah, blah, blah.  By the way, whether or not the culture of the time, and our own culture now, excuses this type of behavior, it was and is still sin in God's eyes, as you see from the story.  Anyway, so now both parties are lacking in the area of faith and they have decided how they are going to "Help God"  keep his promise!  They, like us, are about to screw up in a big way.
But God is still on the throne, and He doesn't need any help, and He isn't incapable of keeping his promises or covenants with His chosen ones.  God fulfills the promise to the couple and  Sarah too brings forth a son.   So now there is major strife between Sarah and her servant ( wow, big surprise!) and Abraham seems to be only slightly upset by the whole thing until, that is, Sara starts nagging him to get rid of the maid and the boy.  So like us; always wanting to hide our sin.   So, Abraham hears from God that it is OK to listen to Sarah (this time?)  packs up some supplies (easing his guilt?) for the maid and he sends  her into the wilderness.  Not to worry--God covers them too!

Clearly, God is not surprised by our lack of Faith.  From Adam on down to me, we have all lacked faith in our Shepherd, and yet he seals our destiny and marks us for Himself.  I'm sure, all that  we lack is made complete in our Savior!  I have said it before and it is worth repeating:  He is my Source.  He is the lifter of my head when I look down at the waters raging around me.  He will supply all my needs, according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.  No scheme or plan on my part is necessary to help Him fulfill His promises to me.  I am His and He is Mine .

Lord, I ask that you would increase our faith, not only by the hearing of your Word but through your Holy Spirit within us.  Help us to fix our eyes on You, the author and finisher of our faith.  In Jesus name  Amen