On Sunflowers and Daylillies

After the devastation of Katrina's storm surge, the tree-cover of my landscape was gone, and I had to start all over, creating a sun, rather than a shade, garden.  My first thought was daylillies; I've always wanted a yard full of daylillies in every color.  So I planted what I could afford to buy in the most prominent of my front beds -- the one I managed to restore first.  The only problem was that the bed lies south of my front porch, so when the daylillies began to bloom, all of their little faces were turned toward the sun (south) and away from my sight.  All I could see was the back of their heads.  After two years of not being able to see their faces, I pulled all of them up and transplanted them to the back yard.  Now I have bought more daylillies, but I was careful to plant them on the north side of my property, where I'll see their faces as they turn toward the sun each day. 

I remember my first exposure to sunflowers, too.  I was ten years old and spending the summer with my aunt in Illinois.  She had sunflowers at the edge of her property.  I had never before seen sunflowers, and each morning, the first thing I did was to look out of the window to see if they were facing the sun, as my aunt told me they would always do.  During the day, I re-checked -- and sure enough, they were always slightly turning to face the sun, wherever it was in the sky.

In the Second Book of Chronicles, we find a great example of the Israelites acting like sunflowers and daylillies -- turning their faces toward God, no matter what is happening in their lives.  Jehoshaphat was one of the few really good kings of Judah.  The seer Jehu told him, "There is some good in you, for you rid the land of the Asherah poles and set your heart on seeking God."  Jehoshaphat was not a perfect king, but his outstanding quality was that he always turned his face toward God, like a sunflower.  (See Chapter 19.)

At one point in his reign, he received a report that the armies of Moab and Ammon were advancing against the small kingdom of Judah.  Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.  The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord.  Indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.....Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly and said......'O our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.'

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. 
                                                                                                                                    (2 Chron. 20:12).
[like sunflowers and daylillies, with their faces turned toward the sun.]

I've always loved this story because of the total helplessness of the small band of people standing there "not knowing what to do," but inquiring of the Lord.  You should really read the rest of the story in 2 Chronicles 20.  Of course, the Lord told them what to do through Jahaziel, when "the Spirit of the Lord" came upon him as they stood there.  His most memorable line was this:  Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God's.

If our first response in time of crisis is to turn our faces toward the Lord, like a sunflower, and just to stand there inquiring of Him, will He not send us an answer?  If we do not turn away our faces from His face, will we not see what we should do? 

Yesterday, I wrote about seeking the Face of the Lord.  If we were to begin at the first page of the Bible and study every reference to "face" in the Old Testament, we would undoubtedly emerge from that study with faces as radiant as that of Moses when he emerged from the Presence of the Lord God.  Tomorrow, I'll give just one example of such a study from Genesis.  In the meantime, I'll quote from one of the most popular songs from the Charismatic Movement of the 70's:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus;

Look full in His wonderful face --

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

in the light of His glory and grace.

Just picture a field of sunflowers and daylillies with their faces open and turned toward the Son.  That is all we need to know.