Holy Mishmash

The choicest and most beautiful gardens are the ones that grow in the rich compost of the scraps of life! The Master Gardener takes the organic material that is considered waste to us and he tends his compost pile, knowing precisely what is to be thrown away and what is to be kept! He carefully and skillfully separates pods from stalks, knowing that he will gather seeds from the pods but nothing from the worthless stalks. He keeps the petals of the flowers to scent his precious oils but the thorns bear him no use. And although the gardener has a keen eye for what is of value and what is not, he still knows the usefulness and blessing of what the final mulch will bring! Our blooms (wisdom) and our fruit (blessings from the Holy Spirit) grow with robust vigor because they take root in the rich compost that remains from our times of trials and tribulations!

We may see life's circumstances as senseless and cruel but that is not how the The Master Gardener sees it. In the book of Isaiah 29:16 it reads, How can what is made say to Him who made it, "Why did you make me this way?!" Does the red rose bawl at the yellow rose, "Why am I colored like blood, when you get to be the color of sunshine!" Will the dirt that houses the roots of the mighty oak shout, "Why do you get to see the sky when I am just tread upon!" All of nature knows their purpose and revels in their service unto the Master Gardener! Why then do we humans find so much fault in the One who knows all things? Our cries should be, "What?" not "Why?" We should cry out to God, "What do you want to do with this Lord?" not, "Why did you do this to me?!" Sure, the grieving process will take us through those steps but we should always desire to rise from our darkness with a heart that seeks the light!

God sees the entire picture, yet we, with our limited view think we know better than Him! God knows when a life will grow like the mighty oak while yet another falls to become compost for other new life! When a tree is chopped down does it complain that it is not used in the Holy Temple of God or should it find honor that it was chosen for our Lord to hang upon! God allows circumstances to decompose us to a point where we see no use for our life but our Heavenly Father knows where and how to use that compost to further His kingdom! It has been through decomposition of my life that I've seen God's indomitable hand bring about new saplings of believers.  He uses my brokenness to reveal His deep love to others through my lamentations and praise! It is beyond our limits, where God shows His limitless power!

It is in the garden of our life that God toils each day, pulling the weeds of resentment, bitterness, anger...then turning and using those same things to create a mixture to plant us in, so we can grow! He tills the soil of our hearts with the plow of suffering and sacrifice and mixes in the the things that we see as waste but He sees as nutrients for blessings to grow, a Holy mishmash! The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. How are we to grow strong roots that can never be eradicated if we will never allow the Master Gardener to prune us deeply. If we make the choice to refuse the wisdom and skill of God then we will live lives destined to be unfruitful! If we want to produce fruit we must also be willing to sacrifice our comfort and sometimes the outer appearance of beauty or perfection in our lives! There is a story of a man who chose wisely and his name was Joseph...

Joseph, whose story is written in the book of Genesis, was a young man who was pruned so deeply but still chose to see God's hand in it. He was a child of privilege who was sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused by his master's wife, forgotten by a confidante, and thought to be dead by his beloved father. Yet, in every circumstance of his life he served others as if he were serving God himself! He took the deep blows to the soil of his life, he trusted as the hand of his God pruned him to a stump and through it all he remained faithful and obedient to a God that appeared to be unfair and cruel! Joseph never doubted the love of his Heavenly Father or the purpose that He would bring to fruition in his life! After, years of making the best of horrible situations, God's work was done in Joseph's heart and he was a sharp and ready tool for God to use in the most profound way!

Joseph was finally remembered by his confidant when the Pharaoh of Egypt needed a dream interpreted. He said to Pharaoh that he could not interpret the dream but his God could and as he revealed that a great famine was coming, Pharaoh appointed Joseph second only to him to run Egypt! He prepared the kingdom for the famine and when it hit, Joseph's brothers had to come to where Joseph ruled to get food (read Genesis 37-50). In the end, Joseph says something to his brothers that we should brand in our hearts! Joseph doesn't look at his life as a waste but as a mighty oak that rose from it and he says to them, "What Satan intended for evil, God worked out for good!" Wow! What faith to come through all that and give glory to God rather than take revenge and let bitterness rule his heart! I struggle every day with a complaining heart...my immature inner voice demands for my life to be in constant bloom and when the sharp sheers of my Master want to prune me back I cry out in revolt, "Whyyyyy???"

Have you ever seen a flower grow through a crack in a sidewalk? Or a tree burst through the side of a rocky cliff? God's power and love can bring blossoms from where you thought only thorns were! The things that God is doing can sometimes only be seen through His heavenly microscope. ALL things are working together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). It was thorns that tore the flesh of our Savior and old rusty spikes that pierced His hands and feet, but through that spilt blood we have salvation! And it was the splintered plank that served no other purpose that they used to hang our Lord on! What we see as waste, God sees as holy sacrifice! There is not one sorrow, one tear, one broken heart that God will not use to His higher purpose if we just let Him! Children of God, we must come to see, as our brother Joseph did, that our Heavenly Father will one day take us to a higher place and we will share in all His riches...never having to sacrifice again or wallow in the compost of this world. He will come for us when our work is completed here on this earthly sod and take us to our new home where sorrow and weeping do not exist! We will share in His eternal bounty and bask in His endless love!

May we learn one thing dear Lord, and that is to say, "This hurts Jesus, yet I know, that you know how I feel...I will trust you till the end." Amen

Isaiah 53:3  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

John 11:35  Jesus wept.

1 Peter 4:12,13  Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice, that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed!

Suggested reading: Chapter 11 in the Gospel of John, Chapter 53 in the book of Isaiah, There's Hope for the Hurting by Richard Lee, The four Gospels.