Times Such As This

Everything in my garden is dead or dying, except for my okra. 

We are in the dead of summer in southeast Texas, in the middle of a severe drought. Where I live is usually known for its lush greenery and stifling humidity, but currently the grass crunches beneath our feet. Even though I have an automatic watering system in my garden which gives regular moisture to my plants, those plants cannot survive the suffocating Texas heat. Except for the okra, because okra was designed to suffer extremes and still bear fruit. 

My cucumber vines have literally disintegrated. The ducks have ravished what’s left of my peppers. The winter squash vines I have left, can only muster enough energy to grow leaves. But the okra still bears fruit because it’s high enough from the ground so the ducks cannot reach the fruit, and the plant itself is drought tolerant and heat resistant. One could say that okra was born for times such as this. When all other plants are struggling and dying in drought and heat and harsh conditions, susceptible to roaming hordes of hungry foragers, okra not only continues to stand tall, but it also grows and bears fruit. 

Today, after my devotional time, the Lord called me out to this garden to take note of the okra. The Spirit reminded me of all the promises of the Lord to be everything we need when we are rooted and grounded in Him. Not merely to survive, but to also bear fruit when everything else around us is withering and dying, susceptible to roaming hordes of damaging foragers, succumbing to the harsh circumstances of the environment. 

One could even say that those rooted and grounded in Christ were born for times such as this.

(Ps 1:1-3) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

(Jer 17:5-8) This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”

(Is 32:1-5) Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.