A Life Plowed

At the moment it may feel like God is punishing or being unkind, but the opposite is true.

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Sometimes we have an entire forest in our lives that we believe is flourishing and vibrant. And then one day God plows the forest to the ground, leaving nothing but barren land. The green noticeable from a distance was in reality shielding dead and lifeless trees, a forest nothing like believed.

Rather than allow us to live believing the forest is thriving, God plows it down so we can rebuild. Rebuild with a crop that will grow and flourish over time.

But that plowing down, it’s painful and heartbreaking and leaves you raw. It’s important and worth the pain, but absolutely gut-wrenching to experience.

I would much prefer flourishing and green over dead and lifeless. At the moment it may feel like God is punishing or being unkind, but the opposite is true. He’s removing what is broken and offering a solid and real foundation in its place. A forest replanted with seeds of faith, grounded in truth. This is a priceless gift and a kindness that we may never fully understand on this side of heaven. All because of His great love. A kindness that almost brings me to my knees with emotion; because He cares, I am offered fullness and flourishing. A life filled with value and abundance, but not in worldly things, in the heart things that matter.

As God continues His good work in me and pursues me, I’m offered the priceless gift of love everlasting. My best life isn’t about how big or amazing the forest looks from a distance, it is about roots that grow deep and a foundation that is unshakable. Because His love is so great, I can root in the one that is unchanging.

And one day, the forest will be replaced with abundant beauty, the beauty of a life flourishing in Christ. A priceless treasure.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit into old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:12-14

 

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Rachel Rae Anderson

Featured Image by A. Kumar from Pixabay

 

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About the Author

Rachel Anderson is mom to three awesome kiddos, wife to an amazing husband, dog mom to three little furry friends, and a child of God searching for her place in this vast world. God has been pruning her life for many years, and He has prompted her heart to share what He’s teaching her in this space.