Though not as eloquent as my last post, and not quite my part II, I must share my intermission… downloaded from the sky. #milehighBLOGclub
Clouds (trials) provide the conditioning of the ground (our hearts) to receive the blessing of life through the Sun (Son). Without that conditioning, the ground will be ill equipped to receive that life. It is not that the Sun threatened the ground with death, but in fact the ground was never open to receive life. Trials open our hearts to the potential of our full purposes. Do not neglect the rainy seasons, for out of them SPRINGS of living water produce great fruit.
Let’s Break This Down…
Clouds provide the conditioning of the ground to receive the blessing of life through the Sun.
[Let me rephrase…]
The trials and hard times we face in our lives provide the “Miracle Gro” for our hearts to receive the blessing of abundant life in Christ.
Without that conditioning, the ground will be ill-equipped to receive that life
Maturity is only produced in the S T R E T C H. Regardless of how we want to accept that fact, no strength is produced without a fight. The same goes for us when we aspire for the purposes of God in our lives. There is a reason why Jesus was sent into the desert and tempted immediately after being called out and blessed as the Son of God. (Matt 3:17-4:11) Even after being recognized by GOD HIMSELF, Jesus did not preach a WORD until AFTER He proclaimed Who and Who’s He was. It’s funny how quickly we forget that Christ Jesus was first just Jesus… the man, with dreams and aspirations for “something great.” He didn’t come into this world with the Limited 1st Edition Bible packed with commentary and complimentary maps of the region! He was a spitting image example of trusting the God of heaven to direct Him in His carnal blindness. If Jesus did not take on the flesh of man… how would we ever believe a God truly understands our sufferings?
It is not that the Sun threatened the ground with death, but in fact the ground was never open to receive life.
The Sower never stops giving… Even when we don’t deserve the gifts given. Let’s be real… not ONE of us deserves the gift of Life through Christ… so let’s stop trying to qualify/disqualify, quantify, pontificate the posture of privilege that is our salvation! It was a gift FREELY given… kinda like the streusel samples given out at COSTCO… 
nobody is paying for that… but if you want it, TAKE IT. You have not because you ASK not!
Let’s be real, we’ve all been exposed to (or an active participant in) the story of the Prodigal Son(s)… *because BOTH had an issue of the heart* In one season or another, we have been in one of the three character’s roles… Father (hoping and yearning for the return of your beloved), Home Son (feeling neglected, unloved, unchosen, invisible), or Gone Son (feeling damned, ambitious, rebellious, failure, naked, embarrassed, ashamed…). Personally, I believe these parables are given to us as mirrors to examine the inwards of our own hearts. All that being said, it’s too easy to see the Father as an embittered resentful parent, filled with I told you so’s and good-riddance’s. But we see the Father as the complete opposite depiction… More like a Disney Movie #happilyeverafter… #isthisreallife??? Truth is… it is. Because God has promised us that His arms are ALWAYS open and though He is ALWAYS there, WE have to fall into His arms… He ain’t gonna snatch us up like your grandmama’s-en-dem would do! He wants you to know that You are His BeLOVED, and HE will NEVER leave you nor forsake you… It’s more than just a phrase read at weddings. This love is REAL and ACTIVE… and more than that… it is PERFECT. Best part about that?
Trials open our hearts to the potential of our full purposes. Do not neglect the rainy seasons, for out of them, the SPRINGS of living water produce great fruit.
Open heart surgery right???
yeah… I’m aware.
But if growth were easy, wouldn’t everyone be fulfilled? Wouldn’t the world be an easier place? Wouldn’t we ALL prosper??? Or perhaps… maybe our #Fear of growth (more on this later!) stunts our potential, not by default, but by happenstance? Maybe, like the man with ONE talent, we just bury that buck under the mattress rather than invest it into Facebook or Google (better yet the Kingdom!)? Or like the 10 Virgins, how many of us push that gas gauge to RIGHT past E, because… we can always “fill up in the morning?” (YA RIGHT!) Time comes and goes, and we missed our opportunity… to step into the greatness of our destiny… all because we thought we had time… ” Come on, don’t leave me hanging on this one… Realistically speaking… write them down… How many Talents (or Resources) have you been given? and to what percent are you actively engaging those gifts? Are your muscles atrophied? Do you even know what your muscles are called?!
Take at least 10 minutes and do this… write them down.
You’ll surely need these for Part II.
Finally, you can never neglect the purpose of trials. Let me just tell you a little story…
I’ve got this friend… 
I referred to him in Find Peace… as my new Fitness Guru. Let me just say… it’s been a WEEK and I’m still INCREDIBLY SORE from, what would be considered, an easy intro into kicking this well-endowed bod back in shape! All pain aside… I straight up said, I can’t start this up on a sporadic schedule, I need a regimen! I can’t be living in the valley of indecision! I need change, and I only know one way to get it… THROUGH PAIN. It is not that pain is fun or enjoyable, but when your perspective is shifted to knowing that pain will produce fruit, your approach to that thing that once gripped you with FEAR will be restorative and invigorating rather than depressing and debilitating. I want THAT level of resilience in my walk… like PERIOD… no ifs ands buts hmms or whatevers. I want it to be written that I was all in… NO MATTER the Cost…
I mean… look at Jesus.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
#nuffsaid.
p.s. this is MUCH longer than I expected it would be!!!!!
Imani Tahira
#TahiraSpeaks
