I came back from an amazing, powerful, anointed weekend with my kids...and let's just say I'm dealing with the "fallout" from it.
The enemy doesn't like what happened with our kids at our convention (at least three - probably more - were filled with the Holy Spirit and those who weren't, were deeply touched by God at the altars!) - and I know he is doing his best to discourage me.
I have had a million things go wrong - schedules falling apart - a death in my family - and just this overwhelming "heaviness" all over me. I'm feeling like any job in the world would be better than the one I have right now - and I know it's not the truth - but I'm having a little trouble "encouraging myself" in the Lord this week.
Resplendence Destrucus Has Meaning I was doing my groceries and I see a sign for a potted Amaryllis. I had to get another one. I had to try again. I learned a lesson. My flower was too big and beautiful to be held by a flimsy little plastic container. It needed a firm foundation, a firm, strong pot to hold it in place. The bigger it got the stronger pot it needed to hold its replendence.
Then I thought about that song again. And the scripture that the song comes from 2 Corinthians 4:8,9 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
We will get hard pressed on every side but not crushed. It was the word of the Lord speaking truth where I was doubting and wondering if I was going to be crushed. I may be hard pressed but I am not crushed, I may be struck down but I will not be destroyed.
My plant fell over and was broken but I was not going to let that be the end. I got up and started over again. I was compelled to try again. I couldn't accept that that was the end, that it was over, that my what this flower was signifying in my life was over. There was more God wanted to show me, there was more He wanted to teach me.
I asked Haide, my dear friend who gave me the flower what she thought the broken flower meant. I LOVED her insight. She said that the pot represents vision. I need a bigger vision. WOW... that's is exciting. A bigger vision... a bigger vision from God.
I now have a new pot with nothing above the surface. I am starting over from the beginning because I will not be crushed. This plant falling to the ground does mean something to me it means that no matter how pressed I get, when I get struck down, perplexed, or persecuted I will get up and start over. And the bigger my flower (life) grows the bigger and stronger pot (vision) I need.
When I look at it now I feel a little discouraged. Such a short time ago, my flower was a huge beautiful bloom reminding me of God's resplendence and now it's just a pot that looks empty. When I got the flower I thought it was going to take months and months to see anything at all so every day it was growing so quickly was like a new adventure signifying growth in my life. And now each day I long to see a little sprout and feel a little sad when I look only the pot. Yet I feel an even greater sense of anticipation because I know what is coming. Ok... I better stop here I feel another blog post coming on...
Who would have ever thought I could learn so much from a flower?
Do you know that no matter what comes your way, the word of the Lord to your life is that you may be hard pressed on every side but you will not be crushed? You may be perplexed but you will not be in despair. You may be persecuted but you will not be abandoned and you may be struck down but you will not be destroyed.
