Graves Into Gardens
Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1. “Fall back” - set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night. As winter approaches and the nights draw in, many people who work indoors will find themselves starting work in the dark and finishing in the dark. Some people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons. Especially this year, we need LIGHT! This world is too dark and broken to live without Light!
The ladies in my Pine Valley United Methodist Church small group have said the best part of being in a small group together is the fellowship and friendships formed. “Makes you feel like you aren’t alone.” “Helps me reset my mind.” “Love the love and laughter!” One member prayed our closing prayer, “Thank You, God, for letting me come and be uplifted tonight, being in Your Word and with Your servants.” I am so thankful for my church and my small group! My husband tells me, “I don’t feel like going to my men’s group tonight, but I know that is when I need to go.” And we always feel better after!
At church, we sang "Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship. "You turn graves into gardens. You turn bones into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can." Wow! He has done all of these things to make a way for someone. No matter what the world tells us, He is all we need! His grace is sufficient. 2 Corinthians 12:9, "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'” Look at all the things God can do. He can always make a way bigger and better than anything we can imagine. I am sure no one expected a highway out of the Red Sea!
I have been in a place where I was tired, weary, and burdened. Tears came easy. I had become discouraged. I needed God's Word, the Truth! Until I followed God's instructions, which was difficult, I would not be encouraged. With a pandemic, racial tension, political division, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. there is a lot of negativity. There is Good News!
Through all of the bad, God will bring good from it for those who love Him. Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." We will grow from these tough times. Over 2000 years ago, Jesus won the war on the cross of Calvary. Yes, there is still a battle, but it has been won! We are in a spiritual battle, and we are to stand with the Truth. Ephesians 6:14, "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness," Be careful where you hear your truth. We are warned of false prophets. 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." The enemy wants us to have no peace and live in fear and bitterness. Ephesians 6:15, "and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." The Truth is what we need, and the Truth will set us free. We must stay in the Word, so the Word stays in us! If we want to be victorious in spiritual warfare, Paul says we must be able to speak specific truths from the Bible, to counter specific temptations and attacks from the enemy. Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Even Jesus knew scripture and used it when the devil, knowing Jesus was hungry, tempted Him with food. Deuteronomy 8:3, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Sometimes, struggles or temptations come after a victory. The devil knows that is when we are “relaxed,” and our sword is down. Maybe we have taken our armor off. We feel like the battle is over, but that is when we are most vulnerable to be attacked. Whether that is the case or you have just had enough negativity from 2020, what can we do? Stay rooted in the Word of God! One way we can do this is through our church-wide Bible study, “I Love My Church.” Whether you are in an “in-person” group, “virtual,” or just you and God, be encouraged and be blessed! We must stay in the Word, so the Word stays in us!