“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” ~ Luke 12:27 (ASV)

Over the last few weeks, my toddler has been in what my 16-year-old daughter simply calls a ‘mood’. He's been extra needy, extra dramatic, and extra, extra stubborn.  I call it his “tyrant toddler” mode. 

Last night, his tyrant toddler mode translated into lots of tears and a whole lot of ‘No!’ 

No to bath.  No to bed.  No to books.  Anything and everything that was not his idea was an automatic "No."

I’m not sure if you’ve found yourself in a similar situation before, but as a parent you feel a strange sense of helplessness in these moments. 

As much as you might wish it, you just can’t force a child to sleep.  You can put them in the crib against their will, but most times that just exacerbates the situation.  You can put a defiant child in the tub against their will, but just make sure there’s nothing within a 10ft perimeter that can’t get wet and while you’re at it, you might as well put your bathing suit on.  You can put a child on your knee to read books to them, but if they don’t want to be there, there are a million different ways for them to wiggle, slide, and scoot away. 

While I tend to face the ‘mood’ of my toddler with a clash of wills, my wife does something so much wiser and far more effective – she redirects.  Rather than fighting fire with fire, she fights fire with “Oh! What’s over there?”  Rather than imposing her will upon his, she redirects his will away towards something else until he comes to a place where he’s more open and receptive to what he actually needs to do. 

As I watched firsthand this power of redirection, it caused me to think about those words from Luke 12.  Let me share them with you again: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” ~ Luke 12:27 (ASV)

Here, Jesus isn’t working with tyrant toddlers, but anxious adults.  He’s speaking to men and women who have become overcome by their worries and anxieties. 

What I find so fascinating about Jesus’ instruction is that when He calls them then, and us today, beyond worry, He doesn’t just say, “Don’t worry because I said so.”  He doesn’t command us to, “Stop it!”  He doesn’t simply say, “Because I'm Jesus, I order you not to worry!” 

What instead does Jesus do? He redirects.

Consider the lilies of the field.  Look at the flowers.  How do they grow?  Aren't they beautiful?  As rich as Solomon was, he never got as dressed up as they do each and every day - and they don't worry about anything!  This is a masterclass in redirection! 

Redirection is not a rejection of our problems, nor is it a way of living in which we pretend that our problems are not real; redirection seeks to interrupt, with the ultimate goal of disconnecting, the flow of thought that has allowed our fears to become bigger than our God.

When Jesus wants us to stop worrying, He doesn’t come at us in a clash of will, even though he absolutely has the right, the power, and the authority to do so.  Instead, he redirects our energies away from worry and towards the mystery and beauty of the ordinary as a way of refocusing on the goodness of God.

In Philippians 4, Paul offers us a similar instruction.  Desiring to see us break free from our worry and anxiety, in verse 8 Paul says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” 

In other words, he redirects us away from our worries, and towards things of beauty and worth; he redirects us towards the goodness of God.

I’m not sure what’s got you weighed down with worry today, but I do know this – if you’re worried, anxious, or struggling with fear, take some time to consider the lilies (or any other ordinary, good, beautiful thing that redirects your thoughts to God).  It won’t make your problems go away, but it will help you remember that your God is more than capable of helping you face every single one of them. 

So remember, God’s got the lilies – and He’s got you, too.