The Bitter Sweet of Hope

 Last month I was blessed to have taken just short of a full month off. What a tremendous time! It wasn't to take a vacation, but rather to spend time with the Lord and simply refresh spiritually.During the course of my time off, I had opportunity to truly discover that my soul had become discontented in many areas of my life and ministry. What is frightening is how subtle it can happen to any of us regardless of the time and energy we are putting into ministry or the Word. What I found at the end of the day were two truths that, once realized, gave me the power to mature in Christ. First, any discontentment in our lives always leads back to a failure to trust God in a particular situation. Secondly, our blindness to the subtleness of discontentment may stem from our own unwillingness to deal with tender areas in our life.

While in Georgia on my sabbatical, I went out on the property to pick wild blackberries. I don’t often do this, but I want to share a note with you that I wrote in my journal that evening. I believe it will help you visualize the truths above.

Wednesday 6/20/2012: “Blackberries are a cruel beast, so beautiful, tasty and sweet yet so painful to pick from the bush. Dealing with our inner feelings, our insufficiencies and our attitudes, dealing with our sins can be much like that. At the end of the day, you have a bucket full of delicious berries, but it takes wading through the briars to get there. This week has been slow – I’m afraid it’s my own reluctance to deal with the briars.”

I am reminded of the Psalmist who sang “How sweet are your words to my mouth! From your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” Guard yourself against discontentment; learn to continually trust God! “God our Savior and….Christ Jesus our hope”

Pastor Barry