Spiritual values soon defy,
The pull of the material world,
Money and possessions, they could die,
Yet our hope would remain unfurled.
When spiritualism takes us under her wing,
Material things, they could burn,
We learn to see God’s hand – and sing,
We learn to see God’s hand – and sing,
And we’re blessed in that alone to
yearn.
***
A man, a pastor,
a spiritual man, a man at his dearth, rejected by his fellowship over a
misunderstanding (yes, it happens), well, he felt alone. He felt betrayed. He wondered
what hope he had. He and his wife arrived home from a break, praying for wisdom
for what they should do, and as they drove up their driveway they saw a cheap
shopping bag containing two wilted lettuces hanging by the front-door handle.
These lettuces
were clearly well past their best condition, and most people might see them as
worse than useless, but the man, the pastor, the spiritual man saw something
many do not.
He saw the two
wilted lettuces in the bag that day as a reminder of God’s hand of provision.
The image of
inedible food was a symbol of God’s faithful provision.
He was
overjoyed. There was no material blessing, and indeed, now he had to dispose of
those stinking lettuces, but God reminded him in that moment, “I am with you,
always!”
It’s all any of
us want or need to see when we are facing or enduring great trial.
When we have
nothing we learn that there is something very rich and eternal in the
nothingness – God’s unfailing Presence.
As we venture
into hunger or hopelessness or humiliation, the Lord goes before us; he is our rearguard (Isaiah
52:12).
In those two
puny and putrid lettuces was the sign of hope only a spiritual person could
see.
When our hopes
are torn from our breast, and we have nothing to lose in hoping for a miracle,
we begin to look ever more intently for that which only God can provide.
The Lord is in the
emptiness, the stench, the vacuum, the sorrow, and in the languidness of faith
gone awry.
***
When hope is
gone, a miracle is more keenly observed. We cannot fail in noticing it. When
nothing is left we are ever more likely to see the hand of the Lord.
So don’t fret
when all is lost, for when all is lost, God’s gain is just around the corner.
Don’t be angry, hurt or fearful. God is simply removing every worldly
distraction that would take our attention away from him.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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