Just A Thought

 Life for humankind can be brutal. At times life’s challenges seem impossible to survive -  let alone enjoy. There are few people who live their life without at least a patch or two where they are not sure if they will make it. But then there are those who seem to have discovered a secret to thriving in any situation. How do they do that?

Maybe we can learn from plants such as those that survive in places like the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, California and Mexico. The daytime temperature of this desert is often more than 104 degrees, while the nights can dip below freezing. Water is scarce for most of the year. And yet Velvet Mesquite trees thrives.  How do they do that?

The answer is simple. They have a secret back door. Instead of depending on the above ground - seen environment - they put their roots down deep. The average Mequite is 30-50 feet tall, but their roots can tunnel down more than 160 feet (that is deeper than an 11-story building is high).  These deep roots provide a secret back door through which moisture and nutrients can flow, no matter what kind of weather is taking place above ground.

What we humans see and interact with on a daily basis can tend to dominate our attention and shape our quality of life. We can also make the mistake of looking to things, people, and events as our source of strength, joy and peace. But how can someone enjoy life when everything in their world crumbles or seems to turn against them? How can they live an abundant life in a crazy world? They discover the secret of a back door. They learn to draw strength from an unseen source.

This secret was profoundly demonstrated by Jesus’ Disciples. They were transformed from being fearful to being bold, in the face of over-reaching religious and political persecution. They survived in a cancel culture that called them evil for doing good and speaking the truth. They laid down their lives for the politically correct activist who hunted them down and had them put to death. How did they stay positive and joyful? They learned the secret of the back door when they were filled with God’s spirit on the Day of Pentecost. (see Acts 2) Those who read the Gospels and the book of Acts will discover that the Disciples had trouble living in faith and confidence until the day of Pentecost when God’s Spirit flowed into their spirits and out through their lips. It was the power Jesus had promised them.

Here’s the secret: God does minister to people through their body, mind and emotions – from the outside in. His best ministry comes through a persons’ heart or spirit – from the inside out. Although someone can be encouraged and sustained by truth, or by the fellowship and encouragement of others, the only solution to the heat, cold and drought of life is a deep relationship with God. A passionate prayer life, and openness to God’s influence in one’s deepest heart, will heal and comfort way down where one feels lonely, inadequate, afraid or hopeless.

But He only comes in the back door if someone willingly opens it.  Daily prayer and meditation are not tasks, they are lifelines. Deep heartfelt prayer is not a luxury, it is the way to open the back door and let Gods refreshing and power come into our mind, will, emotions and body, so we can deal with the erratic, life-threatening elements of life. “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” (Acts 19:1). Have you learned the secret of the back door?

# posted by John W. Hanson @ Friday, April 14, 2023