Weekend Words

 From Water My Soul...

Pruning Back the Forest

Psalm 18:36; Proverbs 4:21; 1 Peter 2:21-22

We built our home into a mountainside covered with trees, brush, and green briars.  Basically, we chopped out an area of wilderness and placed a bit of civilization within it.  Briars crowded as close as we permitted them.

Born into me, for some reason, was an urge to plant, weed, garden, and dig in the soil.  I set about making a garden in this wilderness, which was the place I had come to call home.  It was at once wearily demanding and highly elating.

The gardens I was making were rewarding as they grew, but for every inch of ground I took from the forest and mountain around me, several more inches were revealed.  Bit by bit I pruned back the forest, but always there would be more to do.  Unless I plan to landscape entire mountainsides - which I don't - I will never be finished.

I encountered a similar situation in my spiritual life.  My heart was full of the thickets and briars at one time; when I began pruning in there, so much more was revealed that needed to be pruned.  For every sinful thought and habit I yanked out, God showed me another that needed some attention when it was exposed to his Word and will.

Sometimes we're tempted to look at the Bible and say, "There's so much in here I don't understand.  Why even try?"

The truth is, I'll never understand everything.  But I do understand enough to begin, which is admitting I'm a sinner who needs Jesus' blood and God's grace or I'm lost for eternity.  Then I begin studying the Bible.  And as I go, the way will be opened, step by step.

God could open our eyes all at once to everything he wants us to learn.  But it usually happens step by step and inch by inch as we read and study and discover new ways of applying his Word to our life.  Most often, we prune back the tangle of sin and wrong reactions and attitudes and thoughts one small bit and one small victory at a time.

We must take that first step that's clear to us before God will show us what's next.  In the same way that life is lived hour by hour and day by day rather than all at once, so our spiritual life needs to follow a step-by-step pattern.  The second step won't be revealed until we take the first.

It has taken me years to prune back the forest around our house to the point where I have it now.  And if I were to relax for even one season, briars would come creeping back and small trees would take root and begin to grow where they shouldn't.  It takes much serveillance.

My heart is the same way.  If I relax my vigil, selfishness creeps back in - plus greed, pride, anger, and so much else that is wrong.  

Pruning back the forest doesn't happen in a day.  Neither will I learn everything I need to know about living a Christ-filled life all at once.

But step by step and inch by inch.  It's amazing what one can do just a little bit at a time.

Prayer: Show me what I should work at in my heart today, Lord.  Show me what I should prune out next.

Reflection: What is one small step toward a better relationship with God that I could take today?

From Behold the Lilies...

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." - Deuteronomy 33:27

My nine year old friend and I took a walk after the sun had set.  Because I am not sure-footed on unfamiliar ground in the dark, he allowed me to lean on his arm - or rather, to hold on to him.  It was not quite strong enough to lean on as I would on an adult's arm, yet I was touched by his willingness to meet my need.  He did help me to keep my balance, but I knew he could not keep me from falling.

I live in a dark world, and I need help to live a godly life.  I appreciate the examples of other Christians.  I appreciate their perseverance and the fruit coming from their lives.  They are a big help and they keep me balanced, but they do have weaknesses.  Because of the human tendency to fail, I cannot lean only on them.

I appreciate the blessing of freedom to worship and the privilege to gather to hear the Word of God.  This inspires and spurs me on, but it has limits.  Between attending services, I need encouragement and reminders too.

I appreciate reading accounts of individuals who performed acts of kindness and generosity, or who stood unyielding on an issue of moral principle.  But their lives may also hold inconsistencies, so I cannot follow their example in everything.

Where, then, is somebody or something to lean on safely as I travel through the dark?  The Lord invites me to lean on His arm.  It does not fail.  It is always available and has no inconsistencies.  It is revealed in the Word, so I can use that as a safe guide.  That strong arm seems to be around me as I read excerpts from his Word: "He giveth power to the faint ... I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness ... For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand ... The joy of the Lord is your strength."