A PLAN FOR HOPE!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

The landscape expert had recommended that we wait to get our hibiscus plants until the perennial ones came in. Since that would mean flowers year after year this sounded like a good plan to me, so when they finally arrived we bought four and planted them in the waiting soil. I watched as they began to grow and saw an abundance of tiny buds magically appear. Every day I would go outside to check on their steady progress because I was excited and just couldn’t wait for the flowers to begin to blossom! But suddenly on one cloudy afternoon, without warning, a storm blew in just before the flowers began to open and snapped off the main branch of one of the hibiscus. The broken branch lay wilting on the ground and all the promise of the season was fading along with the damaged plant. Knowing that there was nothing I could do, I sadly wrote the plant off and hoped for a better growing season next spring.

It was then that Papa whispered to my heart that this was the very condition of many people’s lives...just when things finally begin to fall into place...just when they began to actually reach for their dream or to walk out their calling; a storm comes and crushes their dreams and what had once been brimming with promise now lay shattered on the ground. Ever been there? I have. So what are we to do when life’s circumstances subdue the tender hope that we have long held onto? Where can we turn when the contrary winds beat upon our cherished dreams?

I firmly believe that in those difficult moments our heavenly Papa is calling us to lay our dashed hopes and broken branches in the hands of the Master Gardener who alone is the Keeper of our growing seasons. For as I have shared before He is not only the ultimate time keeper…He is the sole Keeper of Time itself. He alone can be trusted with every circumstance and every season of our lives! And let us not forget that each storm that finds its way into our unsuspecting hearts, always get filtered through His loving hands first…so if in His wisdom He allows the storm, we can be certain that He has a plan to see us through it! So although the promise filled branch lies broken in our hands, with God, the story isn’t over! With Papa, the best is ALWAYS yet to be…even when we cannot envision it!

 But instead of looking toward what lies ahead, sometimes in these situations we continue to carry around the ruined branch in our hands, using our days to lament its destruction and yet often more remains than was snatched away…but we need to choose to focus more on what still persists than on what has been lost! And once we decide to turn our attention from what was lost to what continues, then we can choose to begin growing again!

Perhaps the unexpected storm came at the cusp of our season or maybe it arrived late in the season of our tenure, but no matter, beginning, end or somewhere in between, there is always sufficient time in the Master Gardener’s all knowing hands to cultivate growth in us again. Just know for certain precious one, that the storm that is battering your life did not catch Him unaware and He is not wringing His hands in worry; no, He has a plan...a plan for you...a plan for your future...a plan for growth...a plan to harvest glory for His name through your storm damaged life! And His perfect plan always includes new growth, new hope and new and better ways to blossom for Him! Just like this damaged plant moved on from the shock of its serious loss, to grow again that spring, which thankfully now without fail has continued to fill my garden with dinner plate-sized flowers!

What about us? Will our life look different than before the storm? Of course, but change (even painful change) can usher in beauty that before now we could never have imagined! Sometimes we must choose to close the door on one hope so that a new hope can spring up in its place, knowing that the One who jealously watches over our lives always brings what is for our eventual (and eternal) good…but we must choose to trust Him and allow Him the time to reveal a new facet of His plan and to herald a lasting hope that comes to us-for always what the storm has taken He can replace, what the storm has shattered He can repair and what the storm has devastated He can restore...always!

Papa, our hope and our future lie safely within Your powerful hands…help us to clearly see that. Please help us to recognize Your abiding presence when our dreams have been crushed and our long held hope has been snatched away. Remind us Papa that Your plan for us include a shining hope that no circumstance can touch and a bright future that no contrary wind can destroy. Holy Father, Romans 15:13 promises us that You are the God of hope who will fill us with all joy and peace so that we can overflow with hope…but this only comes as we trust in You…so strengthen us to trust in You and in Your eternal plan even though much of what we have held dear has been stripped away. We love you and believe that even now You are bringing a new hope to us, one that will foster new growth, that will in turn bring a greater level of fruitfulness and joy to our lives. Thank You Father, You truly do all things well!

 

 

But You Remain!

“…But You remain.” Hebrews 1:11

Infants are born, they grow into toddlers, then children, next comes the sometimes volatile teenage years, after that is adulthood, then middle age and finally senior citizens…and then at last in a mixture of God’s providence, wisdom and love…we are called home. And what I have noticed is that from birth to physical death we are affronted with change! And if that weren’t enough, the details of our life are also in perpetual motion…we change where we live, who we live with, where we work, how we look, what we eat and on and on. Change, no one can escape its tenacious grip…no one. Change sails into the adventures of the brave-hearted and it works its way into the lives of the faint-hearted and pretty much everyone in between. No matter how we try to avoid it, no matter how long or how deep we try to bury our head in the sand over it-change is always swirling around us.

Now I have met a few brave souls who seem to relish the fluctuating scenery that change can bring…but for the most part, people don’t like change. In fact some people detest change and will do everything in their power to avoid or deny it…I know a few people like that too. (No names will be revealed to protect the innocent. lol) But like it or not…ready or not…change has come, is coming and will come.

Now I am not a huge fan of change either…but when faced with a decision that would alter my life, I started thinking about just what my issue with change really was. I think what bothers me most about change is that...it changes everything. lol No seriously though, change comes sweeping into our lives and nothing is the same anymore. It alters our world and we feel out of control and that my friend is a little bit scary…or a lot scary depending on who you are.

Of course not all change is bad-sometimes change ushers in a beauty to our lives that we have not yet experienced and with it comes bubbling joy and deep gratitude. But then there is also the assaulting winds of change that swoop down upon our unsuspecting hearts and nearly take our breath away from their relentless velocity. But I suppose for the most part the changes we experience are somewhere between joy and tragedy…just the everyday alterations that come to us no matter what choices we make.

There are some areas of our lives that are in a constant state of flux, while others change more s-l-o-w-l-y and still others seem more lasting…but eventually change happens because since the beginning of time no one has eluded it… except One. God has always been and without exception or interruption; will always be. No change found there. However in comparison, the book of Hebrews begins by talking about how the foundations of the heavens and earth will decay and crumble…but speaking of the Lord it says “…but You remain.” The Trinity is the ceaseless One who persists for time without end…we on the other hand have lives that are defined by the tempest of change that for us is inescapable.

So what are we to do with the ever present change that barrages every facet and season of our lives? How do we face the swirling torrent of change that threatens to swallow us up or pull us under? We must turn our gaze to the One “…who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) He is the constant that can squelch the fear of change that grips our hearts! When everything around us is like the shifting sand, He endures. When the myriad of life’s circumstances are changing at every turn, He is our unmovable Rock! He alone is the place of safety that we can run into!

We can face the storms of life and the winds of change because…He remains. Yes, He remains in that He never changes…but also because He remains at our side! No matter what change brings, He remains with us! We are never left to face it on our own. His love and guiding presence assures us that the best is yet to be and that any alterations will only lead to our eventual blessing. Why? Because He remains!!! Oh that we would grasp the unequalled treasure that His steadfast presence brings to us! No circumstance can touch us when we are abiding in His glorious presence and no wind of change can eternally impact us-because He remains! Even if everything else shifts…He remains…and the worth of that constancy is beyond compare!

In Hebrews 11 we see this walked out by the saints of old. Their lives were laden with change and most of it excruciatingly difficult change at that…but they put their faith in the God who remains. They took those painful changes and looked beyond what they could see with their natural eye. Instead they were  “…confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.” (Hebrews 11:10) Hmmmmm, a city designed and built by my everlasting Father that has eternal foundations…sounds like heaven to this change resistant girl!

But until that glorious day, loss still comes and change still happens…but we can know that His loving presence is the one constancy we can forever be assured of…and until we emerge from this earthly life and enter into the city made without human hands, into a community that has eternal foundations…let us choose to have faith that all change is filtered through His loving hands and that every disconcerting variance will fall away on that glorious day! And today may we find heart peace and unbridled joy knowing that through every troubling change that sweeps across our lives…He remains!

 

YOU, FATHER, COME LIKE THE WIND

“The wind [Spirit] blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8 (NASB)

I am in a small, quiet place on a dark and cloudy day. A blustery day, where the winds move across the terrain, the branches bow down, the dust swirls around me and the clouds run away at the force of the wind and yet I cannot see the wind. The foreboding clouds darken the room I am in and I ask “Are You here in this dark place Father?” and He answers me; “I am here like the wind.” And I recall John 3:8 where Jesus likened the movement of the wind to the working of His Spirit in our lives and I begin to listen as He draws me the parallels. Come; join us in our whispered conversation...

“I, your Father am like the wind; in this present life you cannot see the wind, but you can take note as its power moves across the place you are. For now, you cannot see Me with your earthly eyes, but you can discern Me moving upon the topography of your life and in the lives of those around you; but one day, dear one, you will look upon My face and comprehend the matchless love I have for you!

You cannot touch the wind, but you can feel when it has come near and you can sense when My sweet presence has descended upon you!

You cannot hear the voice of the wind, but you can listen as it whips the landscape all around you. You may not audibly hear Me speak, and yet daily, My melodious voice rings clearer and truer than any human expression that has lighted upon your ears. And one day, My beloved, you will hear My voice calling you to Myself and on that day you will recognize it, for it will be distinguished above all others!

You can try to fight the wind but its unseen strength is too much for you and at times it drives you to places you may be loathe to trod. And likewise My matchless power is far, far mightier than you, so for Love’s sake, choose to yield to My movement in your life, even when I guide you to places and seasons you dread to go. There is no need to fear My dear, for where I send you, I will go too.

You do not fully understand the wind and yet it is always with you, kicking up without a moment’s notice. It abides continually, sometimes to the point that you forget all about it. For all of the continual care and kindness that I have showered upon you, do you grow complacent for Me as well?”  

Perish our ways O Lord that might allow a carelessness of You dear Papa! May we never grow so familiar with You that we lose our awe and wonder of Your supreme, majestic self! O Mighty One let us see Your workings, let us sense Your movement in our lives and discern Your sweet presence! Let us be touched by Your constant attendance and may we hear Your familiar voice calling us to Your lovely self! We acknowledge that the storms in our lives have been filtered through Your divine love and we willingly yield to Your incomparable power. Come waft across the obscuring clouds of our brief lives, O Blessed Redeemer, blow afresh upon our dry and dusty hearts and bring the much needed rain and refreshing to our weary souls. Father, come like the wind! Amen