Plowing up Pretty, Planting in Hope

"When the great Master Plowman comes, as He often does, and furrows through our very souls, uprooting and turning under that which we thought most fair, and leaving for our tortured gaze only the bare and the unbeautiful…Oh, that we might always catch the vision of an abundant harvest"

Isaiah 28:24, 29 "Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 
This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working."

Has your life been ripped up, displaced, overturned and left dry and desolate to bake under the hottest sun of trial and heartbreak?

Are you longing for the cool green meadows of yesterday, when all was well, and flowers bloomed at every turn?

Turn your eyes toward the future if you can…

See that uprooted, ugly dirt being disked and tilled and then planted with the most life-giving vegetables and fruits.  Watch as the rain falls, feeding the soil, and feel the warm sun coaxing to life the seeds. 

Let your hope grow as you see tiny seedlings become mighty stalks of corn and grain, and healthy vines of lovely grapes and melons.  Dig your hands down into the dirt to find the hidden treasure of potatoes and carrots.

The green meadow was pretty, wasn't it?  Refreshing to look at, that is true.  However, when all was uprooted, when the grass was torn away and the flowers plowed up, your life became a perfect garden spot for God to grow life-giving food for His table.

Trust the Master Plowman.  His plan is always the best plan for your life.  He may allow circumstances that we do not understand, and it may be difficult to trust Him during the painful process of plowing.

But the trust is never misplaced when you leave the gardening plans to Him.  He will cultivate strength of character whereby you will be able to feed those around you.

I love the verse above that states that the Lord is "wonderful in counsel and excellent in working."  We can rest easy as He works out His gardening plan for us.

(And I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a few flowers springing up along the border of our newly-tilled garden plot… After all, the Master Plowman is also called the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of Sharon too!)