Unbelief…

Unbelief…

When I look at this plant, I see hope. I see the small yellow-green color that represents life. What looks dead, dormant. It is waiting until the right time to spring to life. Waiting for the right circumstance, the right weather, the right condition, to flourish and bloom. That is what I see when I see unbelief. I see the hope of a new life.

A lady sought me out via text yesterday and a phone call. She was hurt, felt betrayed, despondent of hope. Her highway of life has many potholes. Some potholes are so deep, that looking up requires straining and finding a stepstool. Have you ever looked for something on the top shelf, or in a cabinet, and needed to get a chair or stool to look behind what was present to see if that elusive thing was even there? You couldn't see or find what you needed because of all the obstacles in the way. When I look at her circumstances, that is what I see. I see the cup that is on the top shelf behind the other cups. I see the plant that appears void of life, but is waiting for the right time. She is waiting for Jesus to begin her life, spring full of life with belief.

I definitely don't want to be like Job's friends, well meaning, but full of judgment. I withheld my judgment as it is never my place to judge. It is only my place to bring the hope of Jesus, to offer prayer, and to pray. You see, to the unbelief, the world is despondent of all hope. It is like the plant in this picture. The hope is there, but sometimes in the unbelief, our eyes are clouded. We cannot see the one who can smooth out the pavement. We can't even see that He is sending down a ladder (His hand), and lifting us up out of our hole into His arms. We can't even raise our eyes to the One who promises He will give us strength.

I have another dear friend who sent a text this morning. She is suffering potholes. She is in the middle of the hole that life presents, but the difference is that she has hope, the Hope. The verse she is clinging to is Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Two very different perspectives to the potholes of life, unbelief and belief. One clings to God for strength, the other clings to the struggles. I pray for them both. But, I pray for those with unbelief that God will use light from everyone around them, myself included, to shine so bright that the clouds are removed and the eyes are new. The plant that looks dead and withered grows with new life, the life in Christ that was so freely given. When we drive through potholes, we see from two different persectives, belief and unbelief. If we have belief, we have hope in Jesus to sustain us, fix our flats, pull us up out of the hole, and set our feet on solid ground. Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT), "I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD."