A Hungry Soul

A Hungry Soul

The little soul lived for many years in the same woods. The sun shone on her leafy branches, and she produced much fruit. After many years the trees around this soul grew and their branches met above her head. Those branches provided comfortable shade. She was content in the place she’d always grown. She knew every plant in the woods.

After a time, the little soul felt discontent. When a storm raged overhead, the towering branches swayed and clashed together. Sometimes huge branches broke off the trees and crashed to the forest floor, clipping her own branches. On sunny days, she never saw the sun, for the shade had grown too deep. After a time, the little soul realized she was not being fed; she was no longer growing. She no longer felt the sun’s rays stimulating growth. Even though she was content in her comfortable shady woods, she was hungry. Her leaves drooped. Her fruit dried up and dropped to the ground. She no longer produced new fruit. She had become stagnant.

She pondered her situation. The woods were dark, deep, and comfortable. She wanted to stay, but she longed to grow and once again bear fruit.

After much thought, she made her decision. With great effort and great sadness, she pulled her roots out of the familiar soil and moved from her shady spot. She traveled to another, less familiar location. Here she lived with strangers. Here she was the outsider. Here the summer was harsh and hot with the unfamiliar and the new. But she planted her roots in the sunny spot where she knew she’d appease her spiritual hunger. She longed for the challenge of new growth. She looked up at the sun, lifted her branches heavenward, sighed as the breeze rustled through her leaves, and grew once again. 

II Corinthians 4: 5-6

“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

Thank you, Father, for bringing us out of the darkness by shining your light in our hearts. May we shine your reflected light so others may see your truth and have their spiritual hunger satisfied.

God’s Will

Some Tuesday truth from Ms. Elliot.

“The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It may seem to be much worse, but in the end it’s going to be a lot better and a lot bigger.”

Elisabeth Elliot

Through the Psalms, 23

Have a blessed Friday, my friends!

Psalm 23: 5-6

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

A Leafy Canopy

During these hot summer months my time walking has been spent in the nearby Pawnee Prairie nature trails. These trails meander from Kellogg to Pawnee and from Maize to Tyler. Depending on the day and my mood, I can travel through grasslands, through cedar forests, deciduous woods, or along the banks of the Cowskin Creek.

 My walking gives me great exercise, a wonderful view, and an opportunity to clear my mind and come to that still, quiet place where I can talk with and listen to God.

Lately, I’ve chosen the trails that wander through the woods, where the overarching branches of the walnut, cottonwood, ash, and other trees provide a leafy canopy that protects me from the worst of the sun’s heat. Under this green canopy I find protection from the sun and enjoy temperatures ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the sunnier pathways.

As I walk, I listen for the telltale breaking of twigs or crashing through the underbrush that signals me to look for deer. (Earlier this week I saw five deer grazing, including two fawns with white spots still dotting their tawny coats!) As I walked on Monday, I heard a different sound, one I hadn’t heard before. At first I couldn’t place it, but then reality slowly dawned: I was hearing raindrops pattering on the leaves over my head. The rain was light and the leafy canopy caught all the drops; I didn’t feel one. All the green over my head protected me from both sun and rain. My protection wasn’t complete, of course. I was still hot on my walk and if it had rained harder, I certainly would have been soaked.

As I continued my walk, listening to the rain pattering overhead, I thought about God’s protection. He protects and shields us from the storms of life, but He doesn’t promise to remove them. Like a leafy canopy, He deflects the heat of life’s difficult moments and shelters us from life’s storms. But, just as I choose to walk in the shade on hot days, we also have choices. We can seek God’s refuge when life gets hot or stormy, or we can walk in the open, on our own. Which path will you choose?

Thank you, Father, for providing your children with a refuge from the storms of life.

Isaiah 25:4 “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”

Daniel

Reading from the book of Daniel this morning.

Daniel 2: 20-22

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”

Lord, you are an awesome God. Thank you for your wisdom and power, for all you do for each of your children.

Through the Psalms, 22

Through the Psalms

Psalm 22: 16-18

“Dogs surround me,

A pack of villains encircles me;

They pierce my hands and my feet.

All my bones are on display;

People stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them

And cast lots for my garment.”

This psalm of David is so painfully beautiful. Written approximately 1,000 years before Jesus’ time on earth, David prophesies his crucifixion. This is so astounding. We truly serve an amazing God.