“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
This is the part that stands out to me today…
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:6-9
Giving credit to whom credit is due, it was author Tracie Peterson’s blog entry on “Writes of Passage” about the Tamarack tree that inspired me. Her post helped me to take a look at one of God’s unique creations and compare it to everyday life. Here is some info about this tree that grows in Canada, the Northeastern Unites States from Minnesota to as far south as West Virginia:
The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible
The bark is highly susceptible to fire damage and high winds;
however the ones that survive these conditions grow very slowly
Very intolerant of shade
Very tolerant of cold weather
Good self-pruner
Needles turn yellow in autumn.
Okay, maybe it’s my wild imagination, but is God trying to speak to us through His creation? Won’t be the first time huh? I mean doesn’t He expect us to be “tough and durable, but also flexible”? And how about Him wanting us to grow in Him (which is a very slow process by the way); so that we can be strong and sustained in times of trial. How about being “intolerant of the shade”…not desiring nor like being out of the “Light”? We should ALWAYS be in God’s light and truth, so that we can be a light. Oh! But be able to tolerate the “cold”…adverse situations that are uncomfortable but we are able to stand because of our existence in Him. Here’s one to open your eyes, we should be “good self pruners” Aha! Have you “pruned” yourself lately? Have you taken the time to ask the Lord what things in your life should not be there, things that are not pleasing to and hindering your growth in Him?
And lastly, though the Tamarack tree looks like an evergreen tree, it actually is deciduous and turns yellow in the fall. Tracie even mentioned in her post how she thought that these trees were pine trees that had a disease and were in a state of dying with their yellow color. But the fact is God made them that way and we can’t put God in a box! What may seem to us a green Christmas tree, will become a golden tree when the season changes. I marvel at this…some things you just can’t figure out.
In life we will experience many things we cannot figure out in our own little finite minds. It soon will be 10 years since my husband’s passing and I STILL can’t figure it out. Why him? I don’t know. And there are many of you trying to still figure out why some things have happened in your lives, to no avail. That is why the verse above is so precious to me…His ways are not our ways…His thoughts are not our thoughts. When we began to learn to trust Him and to believe that He has our very best interest in Heart…is when the sweet release comes. Is it easy? No…but second by second, minute by minute, day by day, let it settle in your heart and mind, God’s ways are so much more higher than ours. Comfort comes with releasing and holding. How do you do that? You hold on to God’s promises and release the pain and hurt to Him.
The Tamarack tree may not appear to be a tree that changes with the seasons, but it does and it’s in God’s plan. With the changing seasons in our lives may we trust the Lord that His plan will prevail.
Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
This is the part that stands out to me today…
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:6-9
The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible
The bark is highly susceptible to fire damage and high winds;
however the ones that survive these conditions grow very slowly
Very intolerant of shade
Very tolerant of cold weather
Good self-pruner
Needles turn yellow in autumn.
Okay, maybe it’s my wild imagination, but is God trying to speak to us through His creation? Won’t be the first time huh? I mean doesn’t He expect us to be “tough and durable, but also flexible”? And how about Him wanting us to grow in Him (which is a very slow process by the way); so that we can be strong and sustained in times of trial. How about being “intolerant of the shade”…not desiring nor like being out of the “Light”? We should ALWAYS be in God’s light and truth, so that we can be a light. Oh! But be able to tolerate the “cold”…adverse situations that are uncomfortable but we are able to stand because of our existence in Him. Here’s one to open your eyes, we should be “good self pruners” Aha! Have you “pruned” yourself lately? Have you taken the time to ask the Lord what things in your life should not be there, things that are not pleasing to and hindering your growth in Him?
In life we will experience many things we cannot figure out in our own little finite minds. It soon will be 10 years since my husband’s passing and I STILL can’t figure it out. Why him? I don’t know. And there are many of you trying to still figure out why some things have happened in your lives, to no avail. That is why the verse above is so precious to me…His ways are not our ways…His thoughts are not our thoughts. When we began to learn to trust Him and to believe that He has our very best interest in Heart…is when the sweet release comes. Is it easy? No…but second by second, minute by minute, day by day, let it settle in your heart and mind, God’s ways are so much more higher than ours. Comfort comes with releasing and holding. How do you do that? You hold on to God’s promises and release the pain and hurt to Him.
The Tamarack tree may not appear to be a tree that changes with the seasons, but it does and it’s in God’s plan. With the changing seasons in our lives may we trust the Lord that His plan will prevail.
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