Flowers

READ: MATTHEW 6:25-33; EPHESIANS 3:14-21; 1 PETER 5:7

Have you ever been walking or driving along and noticed a cluster of colorful flowers just off the road? No one planted them there, but they’re just as beautiful as any of the flowers planted on purpose. Wildflowers come up in the most random places, even between the cracks in the pavement. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors, and they’re a bright spot in some otherwise drab areas.

Do you ever stop to think about how God created all the flowers in the world, including the wildflowers? In Matthew 6, Jesus says, if God cares for the flowers that are here for such a short time and then fade away and die, shouldn’t we know that He cares much more about us?

It’s so easy to forget that God treasures us, that He watches over us, and that He is mindful of our every need. But when we look at the wildflowers, or any flowers for that matter, they can be reminders of God’s love for us. He cares about us much more than the flowers—and just think about how beautifully and intricately He made them.

God’s love for you is deep and wide, and He will never stop caring for you. All the flowers you see can be reminders of His love and kindness, because the same God who shaped each petal also made you, and He loves you more than you can imagine. • Bethany Acker

• According to Matthew 6, how can flowers remind us of God’s love? What other reminders do you see day to day? Why do you think God calls us to take time to ponder His love?

• In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that we would realize just how deep and wide and high Jesus’s love for us is. Because Jesus died and rose again for us, we can rest in the hope of His constant presence with us and His promise to one day return and welcome us into the new heavens and the new earth, where we will enjoy an abundance of all good things. Until then, He promises to be with us and give us strength to endure as we struggle with pain and lack, looking forward to the day He will clothe us even more splendidly than a field covered in flowers. Consider taking a moment to bring your needs and concerns to God in prayer (Philippians 4:4-13).And if you’d like, you can also pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 for yourself or someone you know.

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30 (NIV)