Be Not Anxious
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (NKJ)
What a difference it makes to be anxious for nothing! This I proved the evening of June 28, 2012:
I was out in the garden putting lime around the tomatoes. Dad walked up from feeding the cows
“I want you to give Lily (our dairy cow) a sulfa bolus.” He said.
“We don’t have any, but I do have some sulmet, which is the same thing but in a oil base.”
“Go ahead and give her that, and then we’ll pick some boluses up tomorrow. She not acting quite herself.”
I finished liming the tomatoes, went and grabbed the sulmet, and headed down for Lily’s pasture. When I got there, I found her lying down. She tried several times to get up, but she couldn’t! A twinge of fear began to creep in. Thoughts, of past experience flew through my mind. I hurried back to where we keep the livestock books. I had only one idea. Perhaps it was milk fever…the description didn’t match it perfectly. I decided to go ahead and give her the CMPK vitamin D3 drench. While getting it, I remembered that B-complex is usually administered with any medication to aid in absorption of it and appetite. I got back down to Lily and she was softly mooing as I came up. I looked at her. She’s the sweetest cow I’ve ever known, and I love her very much. To loose her…
“No!” I said, “ Lily, you are going to live and not die. The Bible says ‘…by whose stripes you were healed.’
(1 Peter 2:24) God, you are faithful, and ‘…You preserve man and beast.’ (Psalms 36:6) I’m going to trust You. This cow is Your cow. You will take care of her. I am standing FIRM on Your word! Lily, you are going to live and not die; and you will stand and not lie down, in the name of Jesus!”
With that said, I determined not to be anxious. What God promised, He would do. I gave her the meds and some water and went on with the evening like nothing had happened.
My family and I were sitting around having “family time” like any other evening. Laughing and smiling when all of the sudden I heard…
“Anemia! She has anemia!” From deep inside, the Holy Spirit spoke. He was the only one who could have known that. It was such a strong urging that I abruptly got up and left to do some research.
“Lice and biting insects (flies) are carriers…treatment: oxytetracycline (LA 200)…” I read, and felt very strongly to go out and treat with LA 200. Through all this, I still felt a peace about the situation. How could I? When naturally, the chance of Lily dying was still there if not greater? I made a choice. I refused to be anxious, and cloud my mind with doubt and unbelief. God knew what was going on and He was going to carry me through this. The peace of God, which surpassed all understanding, guarded my heart and mind through Christ Jesus, because I trusted in Him and refused to be anxious. When we become anxious, we take the situation out of God’s hands and place them in our own. The problem that results is we do not know the underlying problem. We only can make guesses. But God, the Creator, does know; and when we choose to be anxious for nothing, our hearts are open to hear God’s wisdom.
I heard God’s wisdom and without doubt, I acted on it. I gave her the LA 200 and told her the same thing–that she would live and not die because of what the Word of God said. Then I asked God to raise her back to her feet by morning so I could milk her. We depend heavily on her milk, and it wouldn’t do for her to be down for awhile and dry up. I knew that, and God did, too. I went back up, took a shower, and went to bed. I was assured everything was going to be all right, and not because I gave her the LA 200, but because God was in control; no enemy would gain this victory.
Next morning…
I woke up, and thoughts of doubt tried to come in and steal the word.
“What if you go down there and she’s still laying down or worse…” My mind tried to tell me.
“No, the word says ‘…by whose stripes you were healed.’ (1 Peter 2:24) and God will ‘…preserve man and beast.’ (Psalms 36:6)” My heart replied.
“But…”
“No, I’m going to believe what God says. I am standing firm on that.”
So, I went about the morning like usual. In faith, I got 2 buckets to milk with, one for Martha’s milk and one for Lily’s. Now, to go get the cows…
While walking down the road, I tried peering through the trees to see if Lily was standing. It was of no use with all the green leaves. I picked up the pace a little, still trying to see ahead. Finally, I got to a place where I could see a little better and…she was STANDING!!! Joy overflowed from within, and I ran the rest of the way down to her. My heart bursting with thanksgiving, because God was faithful! Our dear Lily is still standing today, with complete health and appetite restored. To God be all the praise and glory forever!!! Amen!
