As long as we stay connected to the
vine—Jesus--we will thrive. We will have ALL we need. Nothing
will be lacking. But if we wander away from Jesus, trying to figure
out life on our own or trying to get away from difficult
conditions—we will wither and die. We will be fruitless. Apart
from Jesus, we can do NOTHING.
Paul says it this way,”...I have
learned to be content in any and all circumstances of life, whether
well-fed or hungry, when I'm living in plenty or going without. I
have the strength of Christ within me who empowers me. He satisfies
me and allows me to endure all things. When I have Him, I have ALL I
need.
In Corinthians, he says that he
rejoices in the difficulties, for when he is weak, the strength of
Christ flows freely in him. Jesus told him that His grace is MORE
than enough. His free flowing favor is undeserved, good and
completely satisfies—leaving nothing lacking. We have ALL we need
in Him. We press into Jesus and find that we always have enough.
Meanwhile, our Father, the gardener is disciplining us, training us,
and correcting us. It's a painful process, but he does it out of a
heart of love and a mind of perfect and complete wisdom. He knows
exactly what we need. Exactly. His goal is to produce MUCH fruit, a
harvest of righteousness and peace. His desire is that we might
share in His holiness. His desire is to bring only good into our
lives.
We must accept whatever He brings into
our lives and entrust ourselves wholly and unreservedly to the Father
and His ways of working. We must submit ourselves to Him, not
fighting, not resisting, not grumbling, and complaining or wishing it
all away.
But know that our Father's ways are
perfect and good and press into Jesus and find ALL that you need.
A grape vine in its natural habitat
given ample water supply and nutrients is a vine which likes to climb
but produce small bunches of tart grapes. It would rather use most
of its energy making leaves and shoots. The shoots enable it to
attach itsself to other plants or it can develop new root systems if
in contact with the ground. In short, a grape vine left to itsself
isn't ideal for growing grapes. It takes cultivation by a farmer in
order to create the conditions which produce an abundance of sweet
grapes.
A friend of mine and her husband own a
vineyard, and I remember her talking about the need for grapes to be
under stress. Vines need to struggle in order to produce good
quality grapes. But when the farmer puts the vine under stress, by
making its nutrients scarce, restricting water, and pruning them back
hard, and crowding them with neighbors, it focuses its energies on
making grapes. Instead of devoting its effort in increasing its own
size, it instead focuses on reproducing itsself. That means making
grapes. But in this process, the farmer must be careful not to
overstress the plant. Overstressing will prohibit growth, grape
production and makes it more susceptible to disease. So the farmer
must carefully cultivate just the right environment which brings
maximum fruit production.
Not enough stress= a large vine with
lots of leaves but little fruit
Too much stress = a vine that won't
produce fruit
Either way, no grapes.
So the vine's caretaker must wisely,
and carefully cultivate a balanced environment that keeps the vine
healthy and producing LOTS of sweet fruit.
And so our caretaker must do the same
for us. If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, we are subject
to the same treatment Jesus endured. He learned obedience through
what he suffered. The Master Caretaker orchestrates the events of
our lives. He knows exactly the right amount of hardship is needed
in our lives in order to produce the maximum amount of fruit. We
need only to entrust ourselves into His masterful hands.
Here is the point.
We NEED hardship(stress) in our lives
in order to produce MUCH fruit. We need pruning. We need to have
certain things cut from our lives. We need to have certain things
withheld from us. We need difficult conditions. But we will grow
beautifully under these conditions if we stay connected to the vine.
If we are wholly submitted to the care of our Caretaker.
We must give up demanding that God
explain Himself to us.
We must give up demanding that God do
it our way.
We must give up trying to understand
what God is doing.
Just give up
and entrust yourself into the arms of
our caring and loving Father.
Trust his heart.
Trust His power.
Trust His perfect wisdom.
