Sawed Off

Last fall I was walking behind our chicken coop and found a tiny tree beginning to sprout from the ground.  There are no other trees around our home so this was a pleasant surprise.  Better yet, it was a maple tree.  Our family makes gallons of pure maple syrup each year from the taps of hundreds of trees so this tiny twig held a special place in our hearts.  As the weeks passed we watched it slowly grow and begin to form new leaves and branches.  It was only about 3 feet tall when winter drew near but it‘s trunk had grown thick.  Then one day, early in the spring, I took a walk behind the chicken coop to see if our tiny tree had survived the winter snow.  I was shocked to find not a tree, but a small trunk, maybe 6 inches high, sawed off!  It was by no means a “clean cut”, it was shredded!  Our 5 year old boy had cut down our maple tree!  We thought there was no way this tree would come back to life but I continued to mow around it.

One day later in the spring, I noticed a cluster of small leaves beginning to form below the shredded area of its trunk!  We watched our tree quickly re-grow as the weeks passed.  Today it stands almost as high as our chicken coop and is full of green maple leaves!  Although it had been sawed off in the most unpleasant of ways, the cut enabled the tree to grow taller and faster.

I can recall many times in my own life that I felt like that tree.  Finally taking root and beginning to grow only to find myself being “shredded.”  Each trial I faced allowed me to grow stronger in my faith and closer to God.  The Bible tells many similar stories, like Joseph for example whose story can be found beginning in Genesis 37: 39-42.  Joseph was the favored son of Jacob.  His father gave him an colorful robe (Gen. 37:3) and God gave him dreams (Gen. 37:5-10).  His brothers became angry and jealous and they devised a plan to sell Joseph to slave traders and tell their father he was killed by an animal (v. 19-33).  From there Joseph was sold to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials (v.36).  Seemed like a hopeless situation but then something unexpected happened.

“The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of an Egyptian master…
Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.  Potiphar put him in charge of his 
household, and entrusted to his care everything he owned.”  (Gen. 39:2,4)

Unfortunately, his master’s wife took notice to him and began pursuing Joseph.  When Joseph refused her, she set him up and planned revenge (v. 7-18).  Her plan worked and Joseph was innocently accused then thrown into jail (v.20).   But again, our faithful God was up to work on Joseph’s behalf.

“But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.  So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.  The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”  (Gen. 39:20-23)

One thing lead to another and one day Pharaoh called in Joseph to interpret his dream.  Joseph gave God the credit and told Pharaoh God would reveal the dream to him.  It turned out that the dream was to prepare them for an upcoming famine.  Pharaoh, having trusted this man who clearly had God’s favor, put Joseph in charge of the land of Egypt.

“Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.
You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders.
Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”  (Gen. 41:39-40)

Talk about a change in scenery and circumstances!  From a favored son to a betrayed brother, from a pit to a favored attendant, from a favored attendant to the wrongly accused and from a prison cell to second in command over all of Egypt!  Through it all Joseph aligned himself up with God and God used both the good and the bad circumstances to shape and mold Joseph into his calling where he would save hundreds of people!  I’m sure there were many times, in the pit, in the bedroom, in the jail cell and in between when Joseph felt “shredded” like our maple tree.  But Joseph never gave up on trusting God to deliver him out of his seemingly hopeless situations.

“No matter how painful some moments seem, your story is not over.  If you love God and align 
your life to his purposes, everything in your life, the ups and downs, the mountaintops and the
valleys, the highs and lows, the raises and the rejections, the good and bad are all working
together to accomplish good.  Be patient.  Trust God.  Let him mold you during the difficult season to equip you for the assignment ahead.”

“The Heart of The Story” by Randy Frazee

There will be times when our circumstances seem hopeless and we may feel as though God has abandoned us.  We must hold on to the promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us which we find repeated through out the his Word.  Choose to align yourself with God and his will, trusting that he knows your outcome and that he is working for good on your behalf.  When we do so, God will take us to heights we may have never known otherwise.  Sometimes it takes “shredding, pruning and cutting” to bring new life and greater growth within us!