Fall, my favorite time of the year! Can anyone else relate? Pumpkin spice everything, cooler temperatures, and of course a beautiful annual change in God’s creation. I love how God paints a masterpiece of colors across the leaves of every tree in sight.
PLANNING
Recently my husband and I moved into our first home. We felt as though God had given us a beautiful blank canvas to do a little of our own “painting” or shall we say planting. It was our desire to create a beautiful picturesque feel in our yard that would perfectly represent God’s hand in nature for many years to come. We took our time to plan what trees would display a wide range of colors that God had to offer. What better way to know our God but through His natural design.
“Out of the ground, the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good…” Genesis 2:9
PLANTING
Little did we know the amount of work, time, and money required to achieve our design. We became overwhelmed at times. The exhausting amount of sweat and strength it took to dig large trenches and holes diminished our spirit at times. The ever-increasing number of hours it took to accomplish all we planned was daunting. Lastly, the amount of money it required to achieve our goal was more than we planned. Our end goal was exciting and desired, but the journey was tough.
After everything was accomplished, I took a step back and thought how comparable is this story to our walk with Christ. We have such high goals and desires to fully know Christ and be strong in our faith but the journey to achieve this is sometimes too overwhelming to continue or even begin. We can look at others who have mature relationships with Christ setting a blaze a desire for that in our own lives.
PERSEVERING
We plan Bible studies, reminders on our phone to read scripture and attempt to set aside time to be in prayer. All of our plans can get daunting and frankly be exhausting at times, but I encourage you to persevere. Continue through the fire and the flame to reach your goal to know more of Christ.
[easy-tweet tweet=” Continue through the fire and the flame to reach your goal to know more of Christ. ” user=”@JaymeHull” hashtags=”#creation”]Push through that tough Bible study. God will reward your work.
Continue to set aside time to pray. Spend time with God. Be honest. God doesn’t care what you say as long as you say it.
Remember friend, you are not alone. I need this message of encouragement too. God loves us and desires an honest relationship with us.
We can do this!
The end goal is a changed heart and an inspiring relationship with Christ painted in His colors of love.
For more encouraging words by Joanna click HERE
