Two Trees

"In God's strength, we can make our

circumstances pay tribute to our soul.

We can even take the 

darkest disappointment, 

break it open, and discover 

a precious jewel of grace inside."

~Henry Jowett

Every day is a battle to see 

who or what will win.

Will circumstances claim the victory

or will we stand in the face 

of all that is happening and, 

having done all that is asked of us, 

continue to stand?

The greatest victory is standing and

believing, despite all we see that

might say otherwise, that God is good.

"Let God be true 

and every circumstance a lie."

God's goodness can be mined out of

all our challenges if we allow His voice

to teach us and lead us.

I too often eat off the tree of the 

knowledge of good and evil,

trying to reason and make decisions 

based on what I see.

It's easy to hold circumstances up to

expectations and define what I see.

But do I go to the Tree of Life and

ask Him to show me what He sees?

Often I miss that step.

It's easy to judge from the wrong tree.

We can easily decide that loss, suffering, 

wounding, rejection, and sickness are evil.

But living from the Tree of Life requires

that we make our decisions,

not based on what we see,

but by His voice.

Christ lives in us and He wants us to

 live our lives through His indwelling presence.

I have been taking some circumstances,

and all my judgments about them,

and bringing them to the Tree of Life.

His grace is leading me to some

different conclusions.

His love is washing over me and 

telling me there is another side to the story.

His view is the only one that will allow me

to take every circumstance and 

find the jewel of grace that will 

bring glory to His name.

His love always leads me back to Him,

which is something the other tree

will never do.

"An ounce of love is worth more

than a pound of knowledge."

~John Wesley