Fight or flight. That's how I do difficulty.
Hardship comes and Beth hunkers down for the long haul. Twisting deep into it like feet burrowing into sand. Put up your dukes. Grin and bear it. Fight through it. Tough it out. Kick against the pricks. Or, I bolt. Straight from the eye of the swirling difficult. That's got to be a blue sliver of change on the horizon, right? And I will frantic race after it lest the hardship pin me against my current life with gale strength force.
The problem is, although they feel so right in the moment, neither response is right. God's plan for me in difficulty is...hang on, I can't tell you yet.
........................................
I'll spare you the soggy details, but the other day I was hit hard with the error of these two ways. And found myself praying this: Lord, I'm tired of doing it wrong. Would you guide me to your thoughts about this? I'm asking for wisdom. I need the entrance of your words to give me light. And sure enough, three passages came clearly to mind as I sat there waiting. Can I risk your attention by quoting them?
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream. And will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit." Jeremiah 17
"But he (the man who delights and meditates in the law of the LORD) shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper..." Psalm 1
"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up..." John 15
At first glance, there's no difficulty in these verses. They're all gushing streams of cold water. Green, crisp leaves. Trees surging with life and bowed heavy with ripened fruit. Vines twisting powerful towards the sky. Strength. Health. Life so rich that it can afford to be unaware.
This is a shocking paradox. Life is impossible in these conditions. Nothing bears fruit in drought. No one thrives in difficulty. What's going on?
There's a secure connection to a source of life.
The tree in Jeremiah 17 is thriving because her roots reach into a stream. For the believer, that stream is the LORD. No fear or anxiety disrupt a believer who trusts in Him. He's securely connected.
The tree in Psalm 1 doesn't wither because it's planted near water. Here, the water pictures the law of God. And the one who opens his mouth wide by delighting and meditating in that stream, is surprisingly unaffected by the force of difficulty around him.
And those branches hanging heavy with fruit in John 15? They spring from a strong vine flowing with nutrients and moisture. When I abide in Christ, this passage spares no words in describing the blessing that flows from that connection. And that connection is secure.
................................................
So I trust in God; filling my mind with who He is and believing it. I make His Word my constant meditation and delight. I consciously seek His filling and strength in the moments of life. Something well-described as abiding in Him. And...I flourish. Grow strong and healthy at life. Bear much fruit. THAT is God's plan for me in hardship. I find myself smiling to see it so full of good for me and benefit for God's kingdom. A far cry from the discomfort and tension of fighting. Much more fulfilling and infinitely better than bolting. I've got a connection to the Source of Life (incidentally the living Water, Word, and Vine) that cannot be broken.
And sometimes the soil of greatest difficulty grows the sweetest fruit and greenest leaf.
Beth
No comments:
Post a Comment