A Rose by Any Other Name

I’ve been reading Susie Larson’s Closer Than Your Next Breath. The question on the cover is, “Where is God when you need Him most? It’s about walking in His’ presence. Susie’s fought a debilitating battle with Lyme Disease for most of her adult life. This is an excerpt from her book.

“I’d prayed, begged, whined, and complained. I felt sorry for myself and angry with God. But this night shook me to my core. God broke His silence. His presence drew near, and I was once again undone. He asked me with great clarity, If I healed you, would you praise Me? I said out loud, “Until the cows come home! I’ll praise you all day and all night!”

Silence. I waited. Then His voice thundered in my heart: Why is that? Will you praise Me because I am the Most High God and I gave My one and only Son for you? Or simply because you got your way?”

A few months ago, I was in a service and the sermon title was The Thorn. In 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10, Paul talks about a thorn in his flesh. Scholars believe he had some form of physical condition he suffered from. It says he pleaded with God multiple times to take it away, but He didn’t.

There was a point in the sermon where the pastor said, “Sometimes God doesn’t remove your thorn.” As he said it, I swear he looked straight at me! I started lamenting in my head, “Wait! What? What are you talking about? That’s NOT fair!” My mama’s voice popped in my head saying, “Life’s not fair!”

I think so often we expect God to be our proverbial “Genie in a bottle”. We want him to fix all our problems, smooth out the bumps in our road. We’re supposed to be living our best life now, aren’t we? But that’s not what He promises us. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us, in this world we will have troubles.

As I’ve been contemplating the thorn, I read this, “in the garden, rose thorns serve a beneficial purpose- they help ensure success of the bush.”

Insert mind blown emoji! I also read, “the purpose of the thorn is to defend, protect, and shield.” So often I’ve found myself asking God, “Why are you mad at me? What did I do wrong?!” I think so often we associate our struggles and battles with failure, but have we been interpreting the thorn all wrong?

The things God allows in our lives aren’t necessarily there to hurt us. Perhaps they’re there to help us! It sure doesn’t feel like it some days, but He’s starting to give me a new perspective.

So often I see myself in the Israelites, out in the wilderness, grumbling and complaining. But God keeps reminding me, just like he did with them, “Look at all I’ve done!” He brought them out of Egypt. He split the Red Sea! Good grief, He provided Manna from Heaven EVERY DAY!

I keep hearing him say, “I’ve done the same things for you! I never left you! Remember! Look at all I’ve brought you through. Look at what I’ve provided. I’m still here, and I’ve always been good!”

Without my “thorns” I wouldn’t be who I am today. I wouldn't have the faith that's been tested and strengthened with each storm. If we allow them to, our battles will draw us to Him. They’ll bring us to our knees, into His presence. They’ll keep us on the narrow road. They'll lead us to the cross. I’m reminded the soldiers put a crown of thorns on Jesus on his way to Calvary.

Even though they have thorns, roses are still beautiful! 2 Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ unto God, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

Amidst the messiness of our lives, we’re called to shine. The fragrance of our lives should be intoxicating to those around us. It’s like wafts of Apple Pie, luring us to the kitchen.

Isaiah 35: 1-2 is a prophetic passage, but I think it has something for us now. It says, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.”

Friend, I know what it’s like to lose your joy. To feel like life's sucked you completely dry. To barely be treading water above the waves. He keeps reminding me of Nehemiah 8:10 over and over. “The joy of the Lord is our strength!” I’ve had honest conversations with Him. I’ve found myself saying, “I don't have any joy left! I’ve lost it, and I don't know how to get it back.”

The word ABIDE is what He keeps saying to me. Friend, you don’t have to do it on your own. In our humanistic approach we try to control and fix everything ourselves. I’ve heard him yell, “STOP! Just stop! I never told you to carry that.” Sometimes all He asks, is for us to invite Him in, lay it all at his feet, and trust Him.

I was listening to a sermon this week. Pastor Gary Hamrick said, “The way God marks success is not by results, but by our faithfulness.” Stop striving so hard friend. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

He’s ushering us in with open arms. It’s there He’ll heal our broken places, give us strength, and restore our joy. All we need to do is ask.

Psalm 86: 3-4 "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul."

2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

"There are some expectations of perfection that you have put on yourself that God never did, and you feel like you've failed God, but you've only actually failed your own expectations of yourself." ~Pastor Justin Sweeney

Casting Crowns - Praise You In This Storm (Lyric Video) ft. Phil Wickham

A Time for Everything

I’ve walked through many storms

My prayers were filled with tears

The enemy was so big

Confirming all my fears

To a distant God

I would ever cry

Just wanting an answer

Always asking why

Yet heard I not from Him

Nor His angels singing

‘Twas all that I could do

His robe to keep on clinging

Then suddenly, one night

As I beckoned Him to be

So real that I could feel Him

He finally spoke to me

Said He, “My daughter Susie

I love you with My life

No more would I e’er hurt you

Than be the cause of your strife

You see, it’s not My hand

That’s delivered all this pain

But it’s true. My hand is there

To hold yours in the rain

It’s something, how I’m good

To those whose life seems fair

And to those whose life is hard

‘I never hear their prayer.’

It’s something, how men see me

According to their need

Instead of faith and praise

They ask and beg and plead

I am a God who doesn’t change with time

Nor change I with the season

I don’t have to explain myself

Nor give you detailed reason

I’ve given all that I could give

When I gave to you My son

I emptied out Myself for you

As if you were the only one

What I do, I do for you

Because I love you so

What I allow, I allow for you

Because I want you to grow

It’s in faith, praise, and trust

You will find you are strong

When demands are replaced

With a faith-filled praise song

It is there you’ll find peace

Where there once was strife

And it’ll be just enough

To have Me in your life.”

~ Susie Larson

Closer Than Your Next Breath