OAKS

 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations (Isaiah 61: 1-5).

 

She looked quite discouraged. “When you and I talked half a year ago, you gave me some suggestions for what I might do to encourage maturing in Christ. And I followed them! But I feel like the progress has been so slow. It hardly feels worth it.”

 

He looked even more discouraged. “I’ve been writing regularly in my Psalm 139 journal, reflecting on my daily life through the David’s prayer “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vss. 23-24). The more I invite the Spirit to search my heart, the more aware I become of how self-centered and fear-driven I am. It’s awful!”

 

Have you ever experienced similar discouragement?

 

If you have, take heart. What you have actually experienced is our Lord’s manner of growing oak trees. Oak trees are one of the slowest growing trees, but they are also one of the sturdiest. God seems to enjoy doing his best work very, very gradually, often using the difficulties of life to build our inner character and refine our spirit.

 

CS Lewis describes this painful refinement with this analogy:

 

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself” (from Mere Christianity).

 

When I experience the kind of discouragement described above, I look in the mirror and recite this profound (?) poem to myself:

 

When you are discouraged and feeling rather blue Remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you.

 

“For I am confident of this: that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1. 6). That’s enough for this little oak tree to keep on keeping on.