WE SEE THE ACORN, GOD SEES THE OAK
Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
The afternoon had started out beautiful and our plans were to enjoy it while chasing elk on the north side of the mountain. Elk hunting can be a game of cat and mouse... but on a scale that can encompass whole mountains. When you start chasing elk around in the mountains it can be a long walk back to the truck. And so it was that evening. We had made our plans and had our truck dropped off where we expected to come off the mountain, but the elk changed our plans. By the time we got back to the truck it was hours after dark and we were 100% exhausted. Our plans had not turned out like we had hoped. But looking back we gained so much from that evening that benefitted us for years to come.
Elisabeth Elliot once said,
"God's intention when He made the acorn was the oak tree. His intention for us is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Many deaths must go into our reaching that measure, many letting-goes. When you look at the oak tree, you don't feel that the loss' of the acorn is a very great loss. The more you perceive God's purpose in your life, the less terrible the losses seem."
We all will go through times in our lives when we thought we had our day, our week, our month, our year and even our entire life all planned out, but somehow God had other plans. We might face some hardships along the way, but if we wish to have a successful life, we deal with the change of direction but understanding that God has a plan that is far beyond our plan. He sees the beginning and the end He alone knows what the plan is.
Walking through the forests we see an acorn rotting on the ground. It appears dead and wasted, but God sees the mighty oak tree that will come from the death of the acorn. We see the acorn, God sees the oak.
In life there will be pain at times; sometimes seemingly unbearable pain, but the more you perceive God's purpose in your life, the less terrible the losses seem.
That's simple for me to write but few of us will endure what Miss Elliot did in her loss... We might lose a job or have other issues that change our plans or our direction in life but Elisabeth Elliot was newly married, had an infant daughter and her husband was speared to death in the jungle where they were serving as missionaries. She stayed and eventually reached those same people with the word of God. She had an unbelievable impact on countless people worldwide because she trusted God through the hardships, knowing He had a greater plan.
In the Old Testament, Job lost his children and all his riches and yet He knew God had a plan. He had his life planned out, but God had other plans. Job didn't know it at the time, but his life story, the changed plans, would comfort millions throughout the ages.
Proverbs 19:21... Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Whatever you are facing today, know that God has a plan for your life beyond the pain you might be dealing with. When you see the oak that will grow in the future, see more than just the death of the acorn today, see the mighty oak that will produce countless acorns.
When we question why life has "thrown us a curve ball", remember these couple of verses above. Know that the deeper we embed our lives into God and His word, the less we wonder why, we just follow His lead.
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