Good Morning,
With all the trouble in the world in the last few months, it would be easy to give up and think there is nothing that I can do. The world is falling apart, and all my efforts will not make a difference. I do believe that this type of thinking is foreign to the will of God for our lives.
God consistently tells us in His Word that we will experience trials and tribulations in this life. Nowhere in His Word did He promise serving Him would be easy. For example, He called Isaiah and Jeremiah to an impossible ministry situation. Martin Luther once said:
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
I have read that quote many times and have wondered what He meant by this. I believe he meant that no matter what happened in the world around him that he was still going to plant seeds. He was going to stay busy doing something that would bring new life and new hope regardless of how hopeless things seemed.
What a perspective! We need a direction in difficult times that is God-honoring and purposeful. Psalm 1:1-3 is a passage that can give us this type of purpose and direction.
“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand round with sinners, or join in with the mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”
To a world around us that is struggling, we need to be like trees planted by the river. Trees planted by the water are a source of life. This world desperately needs to see a people who have hope and peace during turmoil.
We don’t need to withdraw and cower but to be a people that is seeking to bear fruit. We need the perspective that God has called us to “such a time as this.” Child of God, let’s not be a people who give up in times of trouble.
Instead, let’s commit ourselves to God’s word and be a people of hope and a source of life. God can make us trees by the water who can bear His fruit. I pray that we will not go to pieces in times of trouble but still plant our apple trees!
Rick Calloway
Head of School
Metrolina Christian School
