I pulled up yesterday and there she was, Mrs. Martha Rightmyer doing what she does best—growing plants. She and her husband Dick have this unique ability, a touch, that just seems to make things spring up. Between them and the Hortmans (among a few others) the grounds of our church just flourish. After complementing the work around the flagpole area with new pansies, we spoke of some plants that my wife (Ashley) had put in the ground last year. Martha knew that Ashley was so excited about those plants. I told her the bad news, that the deer had eaten the buds off one, crushed the stem of another, and still another was chewed down to the ground. But there was a silver lining. The budding plant was thriving, the broken stem had sprung up, and the little chewed one had miraculously broken through the dirt and showed promise. Martha wasn’t the least bit surprised. She said to me, “Oh, they’ll be just fine. As long as they have good roots, they’ll be back and be beautiful.” She was right.
Pansies planted by Martha. A true treasure.
“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body.” —2 Corinthians 4:7-11 (NET)
There’s a lot that can be said from this MARVELOUS Scripture, but this one thing I want to highlight. What God has placed inside the frailty of our lives is anything but frail. This faith in Him and the Spirit who brings power can overcome the most crushing, perplexing, despairing persecutions, no matter how many times we get knocked down. What we carry around in us is the death of Jesus that leads to the resurrection of Him and the Glory of God. To have the Glory within is to have all we need to come back each and every time the hard times come.
The trusting in Him is the hardest part. It is never God or His power that fails us, but our trust outside of ourselves that is difficult. We are susceptible to choosing our own way, to wanting control because that feels safe, it seems right in our own eyes. But we need God’s power to lead us and guide us into God’s way so that we experience God’s goodness. It really must be all about Him, because if we choose our frailty, then we choose defeat. But if we choose His treasure, we have victory, even in the face of defeat.
You may have lost your buds and blossoms; your stem or bark; or you may have even been chewed down to the ground. But Christian, within your most frail frame you have a grace that surpasses all—all understanding and all other powers. God has put within you a great treasure and that treasure is the Holy Spirit. You do, in fact, have all you need. Hold on to that today, for you will burst forth out of the ground and bloom just yet!
—Pastor Whit
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