I ran across Jonny Ardavanis when someone posted a clip of a sermon of his recently. As I was listening, I was reminded that a friend had just posted about reading Consider the Lilies and I decided to check it out. I mean…who wouldn’t want to find perfect peace? Ardavanis did a masterful job of pointing to Jesus, our great Provider and Sustainer by focusing on His character and how we can know Him more deeply. I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
- As we look to the Bible and examine what God has to say about worry and anxiety, one powerful, comforting, and transforming truth emerges: gazing at God’s glorious character is the pathway to peace. p. 2
- I’ve titled this book Consider the Lilies becuase Jesus told His anxious followers to “consider the lilies” (Matthew 6:28) so that they would more fully understand the power, care, and provision of God. My subtitle, Finding Perfect Peace in the Character of God, suggests that the peace of God does not fall into our laps as we sit and wait for it but rather is given by God to those who fix their minds on and fill their hearts with God’s matchless and unchanging character. p. 4
- The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4 p. 4
- In a world desperate for hope, the Bible provides the remedy our heart are searching for: God’s unchanging and matchless character is the antidote our worried and anxious souls need the most. p. 17
- Our understanding of God’s character constitutes either the cause or the cure of our anxiety. p. 23
- You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 p. 27
- Matthew 6:19-21 [19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (ESV)
- Where is your treasure? (Matthew 6:19-21)
- Where are you looking? (Matthew 6:22-23)
- Who is your master? (Matthew 6:24) p. 48
- Prayer reminds us who we are in light of who our Father is. p. 181
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