Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars and the moon - all these are, and what administration they exert.

So often we mar God's designed influence through us by our self-conscious effort to be consistent and useful. Jesus says that there is only one way to develop spiritually, and that is by concentration on God.

"Do not bother about being of use to others; believe on Me" - pay attention to the Source, and out of you will flow rivers of living water.

We cannot get at the springs of our natural life by common sense, and Jesus is teaching that growth in spiritual life does not depend on our watching it, but on concentration on our Father in heaven.

Our heavenly Father knows the circumstances we are in, and if we keep concentrated on Him we will grow spiritually as the lilies.

The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us.

If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live.

Many years ago there was a monk who needed olive oil, so he planted an olive tree sapling. After he finished planting it, he prayed, “Lord, my tree needs rain so its tender roots may drink and grow. Send gentle showers.”

And the Lord sent gentle showers. Then the monk prayed, “Lord, my tree needs sun. Please send it sun.” And the sun shone, gilding the once-dripping clouds. “Now send frost, dear Lord, to strengthen its branches,” cried the monk. And soon the little tree was covered in sparkling frost, but by evening it had died.

Then the monk sought out a brother monk in his cell and told him of his strange experience. After hearing the story, the other monk said, “I also have planted a little tree. See how it is thriving! But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better than a man like me what it needs. I gave God no constraints or conditions, except to pray, ‘Lord, send what it needs—whether that be a storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. You made it, and you know best what it needs.’”

Yes, leave it with Him, The lilies all do, And they grow— They grow in the rain, And they grow in the dew— Yes, they grow: They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night— They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light— Still they grow.

Yes, leave it with Him, It’s more dear to His heart, You will know, Than the lilies that bloom, Or the flowers that start ’Neath the snow: Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer, You can leave it with Him—for you are His care. You, you know.

When a man is living on God’s plan he has no need to worry himself about his trade or about his house or about anything that belongs to him.

Do not look at your own faith; look at God’s faithfulness! Do not look around on circumstances; keep on looking at the resources of the Infinite God!

The only thing a man may be anxious about in this life is whether he is working on God’s plan, doing God’s work; and if that is so, all the care of everything else is back on God.

There are some things which we cannot definitely claim in prayer because we do not know whether they are in God’s mind for us. They may or may not be, but it is only by praying that we can tell. I am perfectly sure that in praying, there comes to men who dwell with God a kind of holy confidence; and when they get hold of a promise in God’s Word, they look on that promise as granted.

Let us yield ourselves to God, that the living Godhead may flow through our poor, mean, frail human minds.

If the Lord careth for thee, be thyself at rest. ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON

When we see the lilies spinning in distress, taking thought to manufacture loveliness;

When we see the birds all building barns for store, ’Twill be time for us to worry—Not before!

If the Pilot has come on board, why should the captain also pace the deck with weary foot?