The Lord's outside influence

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I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
- from Ezekiel 17:24

The Lord delights to do the seemingly impossible.

From our perspective the high and mighty look like they will always be high and mighty. We’re shocked and surprised when the greatest among us stumble and fall. We don’t expect those at the bottom to make it to the top; this surprise makes underdog stories so delightful.

The scriptures are full of stories of the Lord humbling the successful and lifting up the underdog. Stuttering Moses rises to power and Pharaoh collapses. Goliath tumbles and David becomes king. The Savior of the world emerges from tiny Israel and Babylon becomes a historical footnote.

Today’s passage illustrates this theme. If you were to make a horticultural prediction about which tree would do better, you’d be wise to pick the green tree over the dry tree. Every indicator says that – apart from an outside influence – the green tree will be the one that will flourish.

Here’s a challenge when you’re thriving: don’t forget that the Lord is the one who makes the dry tree flourish. And here’s a challenge when you’re struggling: don’t forget that the Lord is the one who makes high the low tree.

If we forget the Lord’s outside influence one of two things will happen to us.

First, we may become inordinately proud of our accomplishments. Thinking we’ve accomplished all of our success on our own, we strut like peacocks and look down on those who aren’t as successful. We paternalistically think we need to tell everyone else what to do. And we position ourselves perfectly for the Lord to, as Ezekiel said, bring us low.

But this isn’t the only danger that can come when we fail to remember the Lord’s outside influence. Our forgetfulness can cause us to lose hope. We can feel trapped in our low position and stuck in our dryness. In our desperation, we can look for help in all the wrong places (this was Israel’s chief struggle).

Take some time today to remember the Lord’s outside influence. If you’re flourishing in this season of life, thank God and give him credit. If you’re struggling today, ask God to intervene and help you. Can you do that today?

1 Comment

Today's message is so true and really spoke to me today. So I shared with some other dry trees I know.

I would expect there to be many days where you don't get enough feedback to want to keep writing these. So please remember - I should have written at least 100x when I read one of these CCC devotionals and it was the uplift or challenge I needed.

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