Something has been stirring in my Spirit about trees lately, and specifically the trees in my village. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to, as the Spirit leads and inspires, share these little lessons with you. I don't know how frequent they will come, as it is as the Spirit gives revelation, but my first one came today as I asked, "L-rd, what can You show me from this?" and, it's too good to keep to myself. I'm sure if I did even more research into the cultivation of these trees, more could come out of it, but I am doing this just out of observation.

The Pecan Tree

I was walking in our village this afternoon, and I went to my friend Roberta's house. It was a very warm, breezy, sunny day. Birds that still seem new to me were singing their songs and the village was full of vibrant colors as fall is one of our blooming times. It's rich with blues, pinks, and orange, and the trees are as green as ever. In Roberta's front yard is a Pecan Tree. The leaves are wide and green, and, unless one looks closely, you can't notice anything different. But, as I drew closer to the steps to her house and I glanced up, I noticed "fruit" dangling from it and I said, "what is that?" As I drew nearer, all I saw were small round/oval shapes hanging off this tree, not unlike a small avocado except the skin is smooth and it's a lighter green. It looked like there were "seams" in the "fruit" and I wondered if it was something like a star fruit. Now, forgive my ignorance of trees, but, even as a child my dad would walk me around my neighborhood showing me trees and identifying them and it would go in one ear and out the other. I just knew they were pretty and I loved them. I never cared what kind they were or what their purpose. 

Israel has so much "weird" fruit that I've still not tasted, I figured that there must have been some new fruit growing here I was unacquainted with. I walked right under the tree, and to my surprise, one of these fruits was split at those seams. It revealed a thick flesh and inside was a very hard pit-and I recognized it, it's a pecan I said!! I picked this one off the tree to examine it, since it was split already. When it was time to go home, I asked the L-rd to teach me a lesson from a tree in His land. Isn't He good that He chose my favorite nut for the first lesson? 

Believers are given a "coat" or a thick skin. Our armor of G-D is a supernatural protection to keep us from the elements of life. The outside of that coat can even camouflage us, just as I couldn't detect right away that there was anything on that tree other than leaves. We can blend in, even in our churches, and, until one takes a closer look, one never knows if your looking at a wolf or a sheep. 

Elements keep coming at us, one at a time. The "coat" can get some knicks, or tiny holes in it, or, it seems a small tear happens at one of our weak points. However, it's all still good, and we're holding together. 

Then, one day, with tremendous pressure, either from outside forces, or even from within, the seams bust open. Our armor is damaged, and it's falling off. We are feeling exposed, and even vulnerable, yet, it's ok, because we have an extremely hard shell. There is this wall that guards our heart. It may not be the guarding of the heart the L-rd commanded us to do though. It could very well be a wall of bitterness, un-forgiveness, anger, hurt, or fear. Perhaps it is the guard of the L-rd, but for some reason, He is taking you through a new test, a deeper time with Him, and, He wishes to take you to a new place in your walk. Never the less, to get to the meat of the issue, the tender most part of our hearts, where flavor of life lives, in love, mercy, and forgiveness bathed in the L-rd's sweetness, we must be crushed. We must be broken. The hard shell must go. 

Hebrews 12:11 tells us that discipline of the L-rd will lead to the peaceable fruits of righteousness for those of us willing to be trained by that discipline. The pecan, the nut itself is that righteous fruit. I want to bear fruit, I want to taste like a pecan! But, to get to that fruit, I need to let the L-rd crush me, even crack me, and break me. He must peel back that thick wall of mine so that He can get to the heart of the issues in my life. 

Have you ever tried to crack a nut and it just wouldn't give? If your fortunate, you might break a small piece off, and desperate to get to that tasty nut you try with all your might to pull off that hard shell. Even to the point of where your fingertips hurt because that shell is so sharp. So it is with the L-rd, it hurts Him when we resist. He feels sad that we won't let Him have His way with us, because truly, He wants to give us that tasty treat, it is our reward. 

After a while I give up trying to crack that stubborn nut. I leave it alone, toss it out. How great a G-D we serve that He doesn't toss us out, but, He eventually leaves us alone. He'll put us down, and let us sit there and remain in our state. He will not go at it again until you are willing to let Him in to that area of your life you've not surrendered.  Do you ever feel like there is no breakthrough or that your not making progress in an area of your life? While it is true, we may be given tests of perseverance, what can be truer still is that there may be something that G-D is not done working out in you yet because there may not be a surrender. This is not always the case with long lasting trials, they are for the perfection of our faith. I have met many, including myself stuck in situations because we are just not willing to hear Him. We have "deaf" ears, or the revelation doesn't sink the 18 inches from the head to the heart. Are you being crushed today? Are you being cracked, or broken? Good, it is the L-rd who used broken vessels! Do not resist His loving pressure. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may of G-D and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7 

Only when you are broken can you get to the tender heart of G-D within those walls you built up around Him. Allow Him once again to break that outer shell, take the things in life that caused your armor to crack open as a blessing, knowing that it is an opportunity for the L-rd to reveal a tasty morsel of spiritual food in your life. See it for what it is, when something breaks, a new treasure is found! 

Although His discipline is not pleasant for the present, it is an opportunity for you to draw close to the Maker of the universe, and drink from where the well never runs dry. 
Memory verse: Hebrews 12:11