Skip to main content

In Every Season

Life is simply hard sometimes. It can be messy and that is okay for out of adversity comes strength. Right? We build faith muscles along the way. Often, though, we tend to take up residence in the mess. We wallow. Or maybe, we find ourselves blindsided and disoriented and it takes time to get our bearings before we can manage to claw our way out of the mire. Then, there are times when someone comes along and throws us a rope. Don't you get tired of that feeling? I do.

I have prayed for several years now that God would reveal himself to me. I want to know Him for myself. Not what I am taught in church or what others say about who He is. I want to truly walk boldly and honestly before God the way He intends and be who He created me to be. Recently, I read in the biblical book of Romans that God makes His invisible qualities visible in the things He made. If we look, we can see God everywhere! The spiritual revealed in the natural.

Did you know that in the Bible, trees are often representative of men? For example, Isaiah 61:3 refers to trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for His glory. Those trees are God's people. Those trees are you and me or at least where we are striving to be. So, of late, I have been studying trees. I ran across the most awesome description of the outer bark of a tree. The North Carolina Forestry Association site states the outer bark "acts as a suit of armor against the world by protecting the tree from insects, disease, storms, and extreme temperatures." Let that resonate. Selah!

We are all awfully familiar, I am sure, with the scriptural passages, Ephesians 6:10-18.

"...Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand..."


You see now, we have armor just as the trees do. We are to suit up in the armor of God to safeguard from the things that come to irritate and gnaw away at our spirit. We have access to a spiritual barrier during intense pressure and difficulties so that we can stand. We can stand in the heat of the day. We can stand in the winds of adversity. We can stand in every season.

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior, and my God."

Psalm 43:5

Comments

  1. Wonderful writing about trees (which we are). Trees of righteousness planted by the Lord. Yes we are standing upright and strong, no matter what adversity comes our way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Without Santa?

As a Christian, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! Don't get me wrong. It's not a "bah humbug" kind of thing. I love, love, love Christmas! It truly does seem to be the most wonderful time of the year!  What is not wonderful, however, is the slow fade over the years from a celebration of the life of Christ to the greedy commercialism, secular "holiday" traditions that completely omit even the name of Jesus. We have found ourselves in a time where nativity scenes are prohibited and replaced with the jolly, fat guy and his little minions. Where have we gone wrong? We Christians claim to live lives completely dedicated to Christ, 100% sold out to His will and His plan, yet at the time of the celebration of His birth, we are so preoccupied with everything else that we often don't even take the time to read and pray--we are just too busy. Rather than being a light, an example of the life we are supposedly celebrating, we are too busy to help others, hoa

Trees Are Trees

Source Unknown "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then, God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:1-3 Creation was a six-day process that began and ended with the spoken word of God. He created the heavens and the earth, dry land and the seas, vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees on fruit-bearing land. He created seasons, living creatures, and man. Our Creator then rested on the seventh day, the day of fulfillment, the completion of His perfect plan. In one of my favorite passages in Genesis, the scripture depicts the scene of the "Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." Can you picture it? The Creator walking through His very own creation in the early evening enjoying the brilliant, colorful flowers with their fragrance lingering in the air. The reg

People Pleaser

Hello, my name is Brittni and I am a people pleaser.  They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, right? Today, I realized this has been a huge stumbling block for me.  Many of the situations I have found myself in can be attributed to doing something I didn't really want to do because I thought someone else wanted me to or better yet, needed me to do.  I have compromised my own beliefs, taken responsibility for things that were not my fault, even made untrue assessments about myself all for the pleasing of someone else.  I called it being agreeable, keeping the peace.  Only, I didn't have peace.  How dumb is that? Joyce Meyer writes, "IT ALL COMES DOWN TO ONE THING…Motives… Why are we doing (or not doing) something? Are we being motivated by fear, personal gain or a sense of obligation? Are we being motivated by a desire to be in control, accepted or seen?  These are all the wrong reasons for doing something. Our motive for doing anything should always b