Deep Within
It had been an unexpectedly busy summer, in a good way. I had certain plans for relaxation, but those plans got interrupted in the most unexpected way. My relaxing summer was soon to be filled with plenty of activity for a powerful spiritual lesson I needed to learn. Nothing wrong with making plans, but it’s always important that we hold them loosely. Not all plans or busyness is of God, so it is very important we discern which type of busyness we are involved in.
As I was mentioning, there is a good busy and a bad busy. Bad busy: brings anxiety, stress, worry, exhaustion, and even sometimes fear. Bad busy takes away our time from God and hearing His heart. Bad busy fills our schedules with all kinds of activities, that don’t necessarily build relationships. Bad busy, always makes us feel like we don’t have the time for His Word, for fellowship, for worship, or for just being still. Bad busy, takes our eyes off Eternity.
We have to guard our hearts against “bad busy”, so we are kept in the Covering of His Peace, that He so deeply wants us to stay in. In this world of increasing busyness and outside pressures the paramount need to stay in His covering is increasing all the more.
The previous winter we had a huge snow fall and a very intense blizzard. 19” of snow and ice came down with blustering winds to boot! I am more of spring and summer person, so when the deep snow comes, give me a soft blanket and some warm bread with melting butter. Throw in some hot coffee or nice herbal tea, and I am a happy man.
This winter storm had me concerned. The level of snow falling and the sheer weight of it all was not doing my doing young fruit trees any favors. As the winds howled, I watched helplessly as the fruit trees bent and swayed violently in the wind. I wanted to go outside to maybe shake the branches off in hopes of alleviating some of the weight, but the wind and fierceness of the snow storm was too great.
CRACK! The noise startled me. Then again: CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Branches started succumbing to the massive weight of snow and ice. My fruit trees were failing…
After a day or two, the storm passed, the snow eased, and I went outside to take an inventory of the damage. It wasn’t good. I had two apple trees, and one had lost ¼ of its branches, while the other lost ½. Lots to clean up. My real concern though, was the now exposed trunk, in the dead of winter, and if the trees would even survive.
Storms can take a toll on us sometimes. Storms of life can wear us down, hurt, tire our soul, our mind, and our spirit. Sometimes the storms of life, can be so fierce, they even take things away from us that we held dear. But, the One Who sits above the storms can always bring Life. The key to experiencing that Life is the positioning of our hearts.
Spring had come and trees were blooming. Warm breezes were in the air and birds sang away on every branch. Life was returning after a long, harsh, stormy winter season. I had little hope that my fruit trees would come back. All the trees around them had bloomed and buds were bursting away. I saw a few buds on the branches, but no flowers, and overall, the trees looked hopeless. So much damage had occurred over the winter to them, a recovery looked bleak.
Boy was I wrong! A few weeks later these feeble looking fruit trees EXPLODED with life and fruit. I had so many apples bursting forth I had no idea what to do with them all.
Where I had thought storms had broken life, God had hidden it deep within. These fruit trees, now bursting with life, kept me busy through out the summer as I harvested the fruit. All in all, I gave away 55 gallons of apples to anyone that wanted them. I also cooked so much applesauce, it will feed us for a year. With all that abundance I still lost about 50% of the fruit to squirrels, birds, wind, and rocky ground. (More on that in my next blog)
We as human beings love to run from storms. I am certainly guilty in that. No one wants them in our lives, but Jesus promised we would have them. He never promised to take them away, He promised to walk through them with us. How incredible! It’s in the storms that he tucks the deepest and sweetest of fruits with in our souls, only to be openly displayed at a later time. When the storms hurt the most, and seem to cut the deepest, is when we must position our hearts with thankfulness, praise, and openness to all the Creator of our souls is building deep within.
What fruits is He about to explode in You?
Much love,
Scott
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” —Psalms 34:17-22 NKJV
