To Change or Not to Change

As the days get shorter and nights get longer, as the temperature gets colder and the wind gets chiller, there is much that is changing when I glance over the beautiful foliage of trees that transcend the landscape. I see reds, oranges, yellows and mixtures of both. I love the color change.

What is actually happening in the leaves is that the plant needs to save energy and supplies to survive winter. The color change isn’t because a new color is appearing, it actually is that the colors/pigments which already exist in the leaves get to come out. They were just are over shadowed by chlorophyll which is what makes leaves green. When the plant needs to save the chlorophyll for the next season of growth it shuts it down. While doing that the other pigments living in the leaves come forth. Changing the existence of chlorophyll helps us see the other colors hiding behind.

The change is inevitable to save the plant for the winter so it can bloom in the spring.

When we have changes in our own lives we most likely don’t like them. They make us different and expose different colors inside of us that we didn’t know existed. So why do we look at these changes as bad. Do we look at the fall leaves and say, 

“How ugly the change is” or “I wish it would just stay green.” 

I highly doubt it!

Most of us would agree that having change in the seasons helps us recognize where we have come from and focus on where we are heading too. No one would have ever seen the brilliant reds, oranges, yellow, and even purples on the trees if the tree didn’t decide to shut down the chlorophyll and storing it away. 

If something has been taken away from you in your life that has led to an unexpected change, maybe it is one you gladly welcome, but more than likely it is one that you absolutely did not want to happen. Remember from what has been taken away beautiful colors that you didn’t know existed will shine through. 

Change is inevitable!

Change is ironically constant. 

Don’t be afraid of change because it truly can show the world how beautiful you are from the inside. 

Opportune Time

At the end of Jesus time in the desert where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil it ended with this verse Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” I have written in the margins in the past, what was a more opportune time he was waiting for?

Right now this is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He has been waiting 30 years for this time to come. He has been in the shadows as a carpenter. Watching people that are hurt, sick, lost and couldn’t really do anything about it. Even still he knew that his time would come where he could heal the sick, feed the lost, and change the world literally! Those 30 years of waiting couldn’t have been easy and for him to decide to fast in the desert for 40 days to be prayed up for the next three years of ministry was a serious step. And after that time his was ready to GO! That is why I keep thinking that even though we know that Jesus is perfect and doesn’t sin. I still feel like scripture is right in stating that the devil had to find a better time to tempt Jesus. 

Growing up as a missionary kid, I got to see many pastors and missionaries so thrilled about their upcoming ministry. When a family has everything prepared to go overseas, but all they are waiting for is their visas to the country.  Or a pastor is waiting for a final go ahead to plant that church or let them dream come true. They get antsy. As soon as they hear the word “green light” WHOA it is full steam ahead for both. When we are fired up about our ministry and our calling it is easy to say NO to satan. When we feel like we have a green light for the vision, temptation and discouragement seem like crumbles that we trample on. There is nothing holding us back. These times aren’t the opportune times to discourage us or tempt us. Just like Jesus he was at the beginning of his long awaited ministry. 

Now in the Garden of Gethsename, this is close to Jesus’ lowest moments in ministry. After all this time with his disciples they were sleeping and not keeping watch. One of his disciples is going to betray him soon and another one is going to deny him three times. This seems to be a better time for the devil to tempt him and hit him when he is down. Jesus knows the cross is ahead of him he even pleads with his father to take it from him if possible. Still it is know that he needs to take this path. After all Jesus had done for the Jews the last 3 years they were going to turn on him and sacrifice him up. This has to be one of Jesus’ lowest moments right after the garden. I could imagine that satan would think this would be the better time to throw all those questions again at Jesus that he did in the desert. 

Isn’t that the same for us. We don’t get discourage or tempted when we are on the high hill. It usually happens when we hit a wall or an obstacle in our journey and we are at our lowest. The devil just wants to kick us where it hurts and when we are down already. That is his opportune moment in our lives. When everything seems to be going our way why would satan tempt us, but it is when we feel like God has left us or maybe vision or dream doesn’t seem to turn out exactly as we had planned. We need to be on our guard at all times, but definitely need to watch out for the extra kicks that we get when we are already down and frustrated. The devil just wants you to question about where God is during the pain, but it is THROUGH the PAIN God always SHINES through. It is hard to see it when we feel so alone. Even when we feel like no one understands what we are going through always remember Jesus does. He was the loneliest man by the time he was on the Cross. His father had forsaken him, his disciples had left him, and his people had turned on him. It would seem to me that Jesus was dying for ungrateful people and almost seem pointless, but He did it anyway! And because of his sacrifice the world can be saved! And the story doesn’t end there, Jesus ROSE from the grave! There will always be a turn around. We don’t always know when, but we know that God has won the war. Remember that!! If you are in a battle today for your health, your marriage, your family, your dreams don’t forget who has WON the war…JESUS! 

Myrtle Trees

In Zechariah 1:7-17 the prophet had a vision of a man on a red horse in the middle of myrtle trees. At first looked it seemed simple enough, but the word myrtle stood out to me. I did a little research on myrtle trees. These myrtle trees are specific to the middle east area. They are large thick bushes that many would use as a barrier around a building. They usually stand from 8 to 12 feet tall. Great for a warrior to hide behind during war, even if they were on a horse. They bloom white flowers in the middle of spring and early summer. Their berries are purplish in color and almost similar to blackberries. Because of where they live they are very tolerant to drought. They are also deer resistant and they can be grown in soil made of chalk, clay, or sand. These shrubs are extremely a low maintenance plant. They are disease free and pest free. Their leaves are glossy and aromatic. Many of the cultures around there use the leaves for seasoning meat by wrapping the meat with the leaves. 

Even with all these very interesting facts about this plant the one thing fact that caught my attention was the when the plant is crushed it releases a pleasant fragrance. How awesome to think that while the bush is standing there and useful for protecting soldiers, surviving the elements, the most important trait is to be crushed so that a beautiful fragrance can be released.

It is easy be overtaken by the storm you are in the middle of right now. It does not matter whose fault it is for the situation you are in right now. Look at Job nothing that happened to him was his fault and even his best friends blamed him for angering God as a way to explain what was happening to him. The idea is that no matter what you are going through right now, whether a horrible diagnosis, chronic health issues, financial struggles, or relationship conflict, these may seem to be crushing you, but there is hope. While you feel like you are being crushed on every side, you are releasing a beautiful aroma. You can easily be the strongest person that has survived so many storms, spiritual drought, to attacks from others, but each of those times you have felt you have been crushed you have let off a sweet fragrance for the world to smell. 

The next time you feel crushed remind yourself that the fragrance you give off is attracting others to Jesus. You are showing others that no matter what has crushed you that God’s aroma can spread through the pain. Joseph said this to his brothers after they apologized for selling him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20

As I kept looking into the word myrtle I found another interesting fact. Queen Esther’s name means myrtle. How AWESOME! What a prime example of someone that was crushed under another kingdom away from her homeland. She may have been crushed by her situation but her fragrance gave her favor to meet the King of Babylon and then become his wife. She once again was crushed by Haman’s plans to kill their people, but she didn’t stop her from stepping forward to try to save her people. She was resilient, she grew beautifully even in a culture that wasn’t conducive to serving a heavenly God. Her name definitely lived up to the meaning of it.

Even if you are thinking right now that you could never be an Esther, that isn’t the reason I told that story. Remember we each have our own situation that we are face with. It is like a gigantic wall that we cannot climb or over take, but just like the walls of Jericho that seemed impassable. The Israelites marched around those walls and sang praises to God. We can still do the same. Circle our wall with prayers and praises as many times a day we need to. And no matter when that wall actually comes down remember that your fragrance during the crushing times will attract others to Jesus. 

Let Hope Rise

Most every type of liquid on this planet sinks when it freezes. The molecules slow down as it gets colder and they bind closer together. The more they get closer together they get heavy meaning they sink to the bottom of the liquid they started in. This is all true expect for water which is H₂O. When water freezes it floats on top of the water. If water didn’t float we would have frozen lakes and the deep water in the ocean would be frozen. That would mean no deep water sea life could live because of the ice. Our source of water would grow lesser and lesser because of the sinking water. Thankfully it doesn’t and it floats. Here is how, as the molecules get colder their kinetic energy gets less and less. Water, H₂O, has such a simple structure that the molecules keep finding new ways to bond with each other until they find a permanent partner to bond starting at 4℃. At this point the permanent partner they have bonded with starts to create a fixed hexagon structure. It is a strong structure with a larger space in the middle making it lighter than water which in turn means it can float so it will rise to the top.

Think of ourselves as the H₂O molecule. In the warmth of life we are fully activity and have tons of “kinetic energy.” Bouncing off others, connecting with some, then disconnecting to connect with someone else. Always busy and fluid. Not all necessarily bad. Having tons of energy is very encouraging to others and the world. It is when the busyness of life is all that you do and all you ever want to do. Water can’t always be liquid to do what it needs to do. Sometimes it needs to be gas to rise into the sky. There in the sky it turns into clouds and produces rain that is so badly needed to help crops grow and many other things. Water also needs to be ice that floats to help protect the wild life living in the water. We also need ice to preserve our food we eat. The idea of staying in only one phase of your life that hurts you and your growth emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

As the water slows down it slowly goes deeper down, just like our life sometimes the weight of the world or circumstances pushes us farther down into what looks like a darker depths. Heaviness and the junk of this life can so easily block out the sun that is shining through the water. You feel like the farther down you go the more alone you feel, but it is then at your deepest parts when you are slowing down more and more. When all your energy is zapped that you find those permanent partners. Those are the people that God brings around you to help lift you up. When at the stillness of life and seemingly no chance of light shining through, God puts together a fortress. A strong team that now finally has the space to rise you up to the top of the water and to rise above the weight of this world. That is Hope! The hope that rises to the very top where you can see the Son shining clearly and you can finally breathe. It is at the very quiet and stillness during the trials that God rises you up and that is your Hope! 

 “No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! 

My body rests in hope.”

Acts 2:26