Shaken Branches... and Refined Gold

I felt it the other day... that uneasiness, that uncertainty creeping back into my thoughts, hovering over my heart like a grey shroud. I don't like it. I try my best to keep it from happening. I get into the Word. I pray... a lot. Even still, Satan knows my address, and though he is an unwelcome guest, he persists in visiting.

Life happens. In an imperfect world... life itself is imperfect. I understand that. I get it. Even when times are relatively smoothe on the whole, we experience bumps in the road, setbacks that we often take in stride and "just deal." This year in particular, however, those little bumps feel more like jagged mounds rising sharply out of nowhere, because they are heaped over layer upon layer of strata: the pandemic, civil unrest, financial distress, political upheaval.

The thing that sent me to this place, this place of depression and doubt? A Target ad. Yep, you read that right. A simple, little advertisement on TV grabbed hold of me and started shaking. All it said was that the "Black Friday" deals would be going on -not just one day- but throughout the entirety of November.

I know.

I KNOW!

Crazy, right?! How could a silly television commercial inflict that kind of damage?

It could, because I let it.

I found myself thinking, "Hey! Hold on here just a minute. I'm not ready for Christmas yet. I'm not even ready for Thanksgiving. The last major holiday we celebrated together as a family (and as a body of believers) before all this madness started was Christmas 2019! I feel like I've been in a time warp, held in limbo for the past ten months. I'm not physically or mentally prepared to get out there and do it all over again!!"

You're shaking your head right now at me and my foolish words. Believe me, I have been too. I've been chastising myself over feeling this way. In truth, I don't think it's really about the fact that Christmas is on the horizon. I think I'm dealing with some leftover angst over all the "strata." I suppose we all are.

I was talking with my husband the other night, last night to be exact. We call it "Thirsty Thursday." Don't judge. We have a glass of wine, or two, settle into the comfy chairs, and set about discussing all manner of things from current events to hopes and dreams. On the agenda last night was "shaken branches." I told Tom how I felt about that Target ad, about how it, on top of everything else, was shaking my resolve and my confidence. Ultimately, I reached the conclusion (which I really knew all along) that it wasn't the ad, but rather Satan, simply trying to steal my joy. He camped out at the base of the tree, my tree, giving it all he's got. He's shaking the branches, anticipating I'll lose both my grip and my hope.

We are, indeed, living in hard times, but I can't acknowledge that these have been the hardest times humanity has had to live through. This fallen world has seen much hardship. Pestilence, plagues, persecution. Famine, depression, war. Floods, fires, earthquakes. The list goes on and on. Satan camped out at the base of that first tree in the Garden too, and he hasn't stopped shaking the branches yet.

Yesterday, I also had a conversation with my son. Lots of you know Mark. He and his wife, Laura, are planting a church in Spring, Texas. I contacted him via Facebook message to ask how things were going. I had seen a post from someone there in Spring about Exxon having to lay off quite a few of their employees from the corporate office. There had been much growth projected in that area due specifically to Exxon setting up headquarters there. When I came across that post, I felt the branches shaking again.

There is such blessing in having a pastor for a son. Whenever I have a faith question or concern, I can just dial him up and talk to him about it. He has much wisdom and insight. It has all come from his Heavenly Father's hand. I appreciate his words which ALWAYS echo the Lord's. Here is a bit of yesterday's exchange between us, and, yes, I have his permission to share this with you.

ME: "When I'm tempted to let fear and uncertainty overtake me, I think about ALL the times people have had cause to feel the same way... persecution, famine, plagues, world wars, and I remember that God brought the world and His people through each and every trial. Sometimes you come out a little bruised and bloodied, but God has never abandoned believers. He won't abandon us now either."

MARK: "Yes! I think some of our unintentional idols have been exposed during this season. Although it's a painful experience, God is still working good and refining us."

You know what's really interesting about that conversation? It tied in so beautifully with what my husband said a few hours later about the "shaken branches." Tom said that when branches shake, the dead wood is the first thing to fall out. Isn't that something?! The dead wood... the unintentional idols... are all falling right now. Satan is doing his best to wreak havoc, but all he's doing by shaking those branches is strengthening the tree. With the deadwood gone, the tree is more resilient, healthier.

I had let myself fall into the trappings of the deadwood. That commercial was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." It was the last, little thing that sent me over the edge, hanging on for dear life. Satan was shaking, and all the unintentional idols of festivity, and tradition,and normalcy... and false security were falling. But Christmas isn't about the periphery, and life isn't about the bumps in the road, or even about the strata underneath. It's ALL, all about Jesus, and both my attitude and my heart needed an overhaul.

Satan always means harm with his shaking. Chaos, fear, regret, disappointment. These are his tools of the trade, and believe me, he is a master at it.

God's refinement, on the contrary, is always meant for good. The pruning of the branches, the burning off of the dross... always has purpose, to purify, to make healthy, and to shed the unnecessary encumberances, that we might bear fruit, and bear it abundantly.

God used the words of two of the dearest people in my life to help me realize that shaken branches and refined gold have the same purpose... to make me better, stronger, more like Him. Then He went a step further. He put a song in my heart this morning as I went about my routine. I was unconsciously humming the tune from an old hymn, "How Firm a Foundation." You know, it's been ages since I've sung that song. I'm pretty good about recalling the first verses by memory, but things always get a little fuzzy by the subsequent stanzas. I didn't know why that particular hymn came to mind until I went to the shelf and pulled out my hymnal. If you will indulge me, I'd like to share especially the words of the third and fourth verses of TLH # 728 with you.

"The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose

I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake."

"When through fiery trials your pathway will lie,

My grace, all sufficient, will be your supply.

The flames will not hurt you; I only design

Your dross to consume and your gold to refine."

Wow.

"God has never abandoned believers. He won't abandon us now either."

So, Satan, go ahead, shake away if you will. My God has got me, and He keeps me still.