PRODUCTIVE SUFFERING
October 15, 2018
Prayer: Lord, I am grateful for Your precious presence when I am in the middle of trouble. You have helped me grow in my trust and reliance upon You. Thank You. Amen.
Scripture: Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:3-4 NIV
My family has spent a lot of time landscaping our yard. We have put countless hours of hard work and invested many dollars in plants and projects, so of course the next step would be to nurture and preserve all of the plants. I am proficient at two things when it comes to gardening; weeding and watering; that about sums up my abilities as a gardener. I am willing to do other things but I must receive instructions to be able to do it.
So imagine my surprise when my husband, Russ, informed me that I was watering too often and needed to let our plants stress a little to promote growth. What? I do not want my precious flowers to stress – stress is dreadful and painful. Then he explained how it helped them to grow deeper and become healthier in the long run, so of course, I ran into the house to write this devotional and a quick lesson on plants. In an area where water comes often, plants focus on top growth rather than developing deep roots. A period of drought will stress them and may cause them to abandon some of that water-hogging foliage. Plants that are used to periods of days or weeks without water will develop larger root spreads (and will consequently hold soil better, which is useful information when you are gardening on a slope or other erosion-prone site). They will be better able to maintain the foliage they’ve grown, and will not wilt at the first sign of neglect. The same is true for Christians. If we have all of our needs and wants met all of the time without a moment of stress, we will not grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Think about that for a moment. Looking back on your life, when have you grown closer to God, when have you learned the most, when did you rely on Him the most? It was during times of stress and suffering. The times we grow deeper and our priorities or focus are shifted are the times when we hurt or when we do not have it easy. Like the plants that abandon some of the water-hogging foliage, we learn to step away from anything that may hinder us from growing deeper with God. We get distracted and disillusioned by so many things in this world. A time of stress helps us to focus on what really matters and the One who is able to sustain us in this harsh environment that is not Heaven. Physicists at the University of Bonn have developed a device that listens to the stress responses of household plants. They hope it will reveal what makes so many geranium seedlings die after the long trip to Germany from their nurseries in the Mediterranean. When plants are under stress, because of drought or exposure to salt, ozone and cold, they emit ethylene gas. The device excites ethylene molecules and converts their energy in the form of a tiny shock wave in the surrounding atmosphere. The device then registers the “scream” of the plant due to its stress. I would have guessed that it would be stressful to leave the beautiful Mediterranean, but who knew that plants “screamed” when they were stressed? Furthermore, we can now hear and measure their stress by the gas that they emit. How about you? What signals do you emit when you are stressed? Do you get angry and ornery? Do you get quiet and distant? Do you seek answers or isolation?
The Bible says we should seek God. Times of suffering lead to hope as God pours out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. These are times to drink deep from God, avoiding the water hose of this world that is temporary and leaves us weak and shallow. These are times that we should spend more time with Him in His Word. Even more shocking to our system, these are the times we should rejoice because He is helping us to grow deeper. In a world that looks at our “top growth,” God wants to grow our “roots” to help us hold on in an erosion-prone world. Our stressful times can be our most productive times if we allow God to nurture and strengthen us.
My prayer for you is that all of your suffering would be productive.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]