I have a distinct odd memory from when I was 6 or 7 years old. Many of you would know this time frame and probably have your own memories about it and perhaps even personal experiences.
It was 1990 and the United States had just entered the conflict against Iraq under the terroristic rule of Saddam Hussein in what was known as the Gulf War.
Sitting in my living room, watching the news of this “GOLF War” unfold, my little 1st grade brain melted into a state of panic and fear. I remember turning and asking my mom if dad going to have to go fight. I had been to the GOLF course before, and it was SOOO close to our house that I thought for sure my dad would be caught up in the militant exploits!
Well, thank goodness the fighting was a little farther away than Medford, OK, municipal golf course.
Can you relate? No, what about this. Irrational fear and heightened emotional reactions from something that isn’t even true? Maybe it is true, somewhere, for someone, but it is NOWHERE NEAR YOUR REALITY, and yet it still has a grip on you???!!!
In Jeremiah, the prophet writes about a people who understand the context of things and aren’t living scared from misconceptions, false realities, and lies, both internal and external.
In chapter 17 verses 7-8 we read: “But blessedis the one who trustsin theLord,whose confidence is in him.They will be like a tree planted by the waterthat 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 year of droughtand never fails to bear fruit.”
All around us there is devastating drought and scorching heat. The temporal climate leaves our hearts in desperation. This is a perfect atmosphere for despair, disease, and death.
This causes us to believe the reality that the GULF WAR is in our own city’s back nine!
In Jeremiah, the prophet spells out that a person who trusts in God and puts confidence in him, is like a tree planted by the water whose leaves are always green and never fails to bear fruit. This tree doesn’t fret the drought or sweat the heat. There is NO FEAR because there is a deep peace from the confidence in its understanding about its lot in life, its source of hope, and its ability to endure.
We have this same confidence when we put hope in Jesus. The external stressors, life-suckers, and pain-points of life have little to no effect on us because we live on a different level. And it’s not that those things are so far removed from us, but that we are living for something BEYOND them.
So…
May you be reminded, reassured, and repositioned to the reality of the flourishing life in Christ Jesus despite the hellish circumstances surrounding you.
Or…
May you be compelled, coaxed, and convinced that you can be more than an overcomer in the midst of the earthly turmoil and treachery, anguish and anxiety, hell and high water!
#DeepRoots
#LentenLove
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
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