Somehow, Someway

The topic was "living under a lord."


The reference we began from was Genesis 2:16-17--And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."


Of course we often miss that He has begun with a statement of "You are free." That is said before any directives are placed on us. Submission to His plan always leads to freedom. We just have to trust Him enough that we can believe Him without always understanding why He has planned it that way, trusting that His motives for us are good even when He does not tell us why we need to avoid something or move a different direction or do "this" instead of "that." No small assignment, as it smacks of the "because I said so" line that most of us hated as children.

I have begun to think that trusting Him is His ultimate goal for each of us during our life on earth. I am increasingly of the notion that He wants us to see Him (not the reason) clearly enough, to love Him deeply enough that we can trust Him even when circumstances are wrinkling all around us and the rug is pulled out from beneath our feet. We can only keep trusting in such days if we have tasted of His sovereignty and provision and unfailing love. Just like in any relationship, it takes time to develop such trust. You wonder why life is full of challenges? Well, my dear, we are in the lesson of a lifetime.



As we listened to this passage this morning, I began to envision the tree in the center of the "garden" of each of our lives. It is, without doubt, the question of life. It takes center stage. It is the thing that, depending on our decision to stay away or to eat, will determine what kind of roots and fruit each of us will have. I can choose to trust God, though sometimes He is frustratingly silent or alarmingly late (in my timeline) with an answer, or I can feed myself from the tree of what I know, or want, or think is best every time a hunger or need arises. If I pick the diet and insist on the timing of the provision I will inevitably have stunted my own growth and compromised my own health.


I remembered verses elsewhere in the Bible:


... Psalm 1--the one who is blessed, who delights in the law of the Lord "is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

...Jeremiah 17--"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a hear of drought and never fails to bear fruit."


And so, it seems, I get to deny a tree that would make me lord of my own life in order to become a human being that is bearing the fruit of the kingdom. As I sink my roots deep, as I trust Him, as I learn to walk in His ways, I get to enjoy the fruit of the kingdom and to offer it to others. What is that fruit? Galatians 5 gives the list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. They are things that all of us have been wired to want and need. Clearly that is why it is so tempting for us to seek to fill the gaps our own way. And so we begin to learn the lesson that calls us to believe that He is indeed trustworthy. Will I take the risk to venture into that seemingly precarious turf? Will you?



"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness." Romans 4:18-22



The lesson ended this morning with the mention of the only two times that scripture states that Jesus was amazed. One was in Nazareth, where he was amazed at the unbelief of the Jews. The other was at the belief of the Gentile Centurion. So there it is--a chance before us to trust God in the face of all that would declare such a thing as foolishness. We, today, have a chance to believe, to trust that God will be enough for everything we face. Somehow, someway, He will prove Himself faithful. I don't know how He will do it and neither do you. But it is clear that He has promised to come through. We can believe. Let's do it. Let's run that race. Let's amaze Jesus!







Photographs: Apples, by *clairity*; Through A Childs Eye, by Down Town Pictures; Silhouettes by sunset, by Powi (ponanwi); Two Hands Two Generations, by Dino Olivieri; Malay Mail Big Walk, by amrufm