![]() ![]() The apostle Peter was crucified upside down for the cause of Christ. Imagine being an early follower of Jesus in the years of hardship after His resurrection and ascension. ![]() That’s because the evil one knows that our belief and unwavering trust in God’s authority and power is crucial for our spiritual “success” in life. That’s hard for you and me to swallow, isn’t it? What about cruel dictators or embarrassing world leaders? What about our personal pain, like cancer, a job loss, or a failing relationship? What about the dreams God has planted in our hearts that seem to take years to materialize? The trials of life and negative thoughts come at us from every angle and Satan will attempt to use every single one of them to make us doubt God’s sovereignty. While most of us probably think of a monarch, like the Queen of England, the truth of the matter is that no king, president or dictator in history has ever possessed real sovereignty, which is defined as “supreme power and authority.” God tells us in Daniel 4:25 that, “The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” Sovereignty: now that’s a word you don’t hear every day. Unfortunately, many believers never experience the kind of joy that flows from a heart that accepts God’s sovereignty to either place us in - or allow us to be taken to - a hard place. ![]() When this time of waiting and endurance happens, whether you are in that difficult place for an hour, a day, a month, a year or a decade, you will always come out of it having leaned into Jesus more deeply and more fully than you could have ever imagined. This means persevering, praying and waiting on Him for strength, relief, or perhaps replanting somewhere else next spring. And other times we do what God calls us to do - to completely trust Him, even in the midst of extreme discomfort. Sometimes our stubbornness kicks in and we try to push through even when we know we shouldn’t go in a certain direction. When we enter a season of life that places us in unfamiliar terrain that is rough and demanding, we may feel the angled, painful edges of rocks around our hearts, minds or bodies. But we tend to focus on the lack of comfort and companionship, and beg the Master Gardener to plant us somewhere else… anywhere else. He wants us to learn to depend more on Him and become a bright spot of color on an otherwise barren landscape. He sees the hard, unforgiving stones and gravel as opportunities for growth, and we tend to see them as nothing but bad luck, adversity, and disappointment. Because we’ve lived in this location for more than a decade, I was not only surprised by the perennial’s hardiness, but equally disappointed by my lack of attention to it before.Īs I pondered the struggle the iris must face each year to rise up among stones and then blossom in unpleasant conditions, I couldn't help but think about the times in our lives when God plants us in places we don’t want to be in. Just feet away, there was soft, fertile earth beckoning, but that single iris was growing right where it was originally planted many, many years ago by the previous owner of our property. Early one morning this week, I was looking out my window and saw a determined purple iris growing right out of an area covered in gravel and rocks. Without that much-needed attitude adjustment, I doubt I would’ve even noticed the most remarkable thing in my yard. But just when I start to get really annoyed, I pass by the snow shovels in our garage and immediately adjust my attitude with the not-so-distant memory of long, dark icy days when nothing can survive in my yard. It somehow finds its way into every corner of my house, prompting my inner clean freak to wipe surfaces incessantly and creating the need for me to take an allergy pill daily. It’s that time of year when everything is growing and blooming like crazy in Maine, so that means our yard is finally alive with resplendent color… and constantly coated with a thin film of yellow pollen. ![]()
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