I love my country!
I love the red, white, and blue!
But what do we do when we feel like freedom is being taken away from us??
The last two blog posts considered the “Red” and the “White” … in the Red, White, and Blue.
Here you can see “Blue.”
My daughter texted me this photo of three little blueberries she was able to pick and enjoy when she came over to water the plants on the back deck recently, while hubby and I were out of town.
I was so happy my daughter was able to pick the three little ripe blueberries.
These three were the very first ripe blueberries … before the birds discovered them. Since then every . single . blueberry has been stolen away by the birds just about the time it is almost ripe.
Every . single . blueberry.
The blueberry plants were ones we got in little cardboard tubes at Home Depot in February several years ago. We planted them in the garden and for the past few years they have done absolutely nothing at all in the garden. They haven’t grown – at all. They haven’t produced any berries – at all.
Finally, I decided to dig them up out of the garden and put them in pots on the back deck. Maybe that would help.
Sure enough … they have grown like gangbusters in their pots on the back deck.
In fact, this year is the very first year they have produced berries. Just look at all those berries … just waiting to turn ripe!
So exciting! I can’t wait for them to turn ripe.
But no. No ripe berries for us.
Every time a blueberry starts to turn ripe … it’s stolen away.
This blueberry here was almost ripe yesterday morning when I took this photo. I thought about picking it, but I knew it would be tart since it wasn’t fully ripe. I decided to leave it one more day so it could ripen a bit more.
But alas … when I went out later yesterday afternoon the blueberry was gone. It had been stolen away.
This right here is what things feel like in our country sometimes. No matter how hard we work, it seems like our income is “stolen away.”
In my own state, legislation is being passed (which is not approved by the voters) which keeps adding taxes upon taxes to our lives. The burden is heavy!
Sometimes it can feel despairing … rather like the blueberry plants on my back deck which are loaded with the potential of a harvest. But the harvest keeps continually being stolen away.
What are we to do??
Red, white, and blue … oh what are we to do??
What do we do when we feel like freedom is being taken away from us??
* For starters, we do not resign in defeat. We do not give up. We do not despair as if all hope is lost.
We do not sit in our Lazy-boy recliners bemoaning the state of things and wishing for “the good ol’ days.”
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” – Ecclesiastes 7:10
God has given us this life to live here … and now.
We have a task to accomplish here. We have a job to do now.
* Secondly … we do not listen to the lies which we are constantly being told about how terrible our country is and that all hope is lost. “Might as well pick up those blueberry pots and just toss them over the railing and off the deck, to smash into the flowerbed below,” the voices are telling us from all sides.
No! We will not listen to those lies. We will not believe those lies.
Our country is not terrible. All hope is not lost.
We reject the lies! We refuse to allow the lies into our heart and mind.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
* Third … we realize that there are more for us than against us! If we are a follower of Jesus Christ, then our King Jesus commands armies of angels! Armies of angels which are doing battle on our behalf!
In 2 Kings 6:8-18 we read the account where an ungodly political ruler was making ungodly political decisions. God used the prophet Elisha to thwart the ungodly actions of the ungodly political ruler. In retaliation, the ungodly political ruler set out to capture and destroy God’s prophet Elisha.
Picking up the story we read …
“’Go, find out where he is,’ the king ordered, ‘so I can send men and capture him.’ The report came back: ‘He is in Dothan.’ Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked.
“’Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’
“And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” – 2 Kings 6:13-17
There are more for us than against us! Our King Jesus is a mighty warrior! Our King Jesus is fighting for us!
Furthermore … there are more of us than we realize!
In 1 Kings 19:10 the prophet Elijah was discouraged and felt like giving up and quitting. Elijah told God: “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. … I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
However … God replied: “I have reserved 7,000 … all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal.” – 1 Kings 19:18
Red, white, and blue … oh what are we to do??
We must realize there are far more of us than we realize!
Look! Red!
The raspberries are absolutely loaded with berry clusters! I was checking two days ago to see if the pods are opening up yet, but they were still tightly closed. I went out just now to check again … and just look how much the pods are opening and the berries are getting ready to turn ripe!
The harvest is plentiful!
The harvest is abundant!
Red, white, and blue … there’s hope in view!
Look! White!
The daisies are blooming in profusion! This morning was grey and overcast as hubby drove off to work. And over along the edge of the forest, the daisies were absolutely exploding with color! The darker and greyer it is … the brighter the white daisies stand out!
And that yellow pop of color in the center of the white daisies … we could think of that as being the presence of Jesus Christ in God’s people!
Red, white, and blue … there’s hope in view!
There’s far more of us than we realize!
Look! Blue!
All around the base of the raspberry garden little teeny tiny miniscule Forget-me-nots are blooming. Blooming in profusion! The blooms are no bigger than a pinhead. But they are blooming their hearts out!
Red, white, and blue … there’s hope in view!
* We will not resign in defeat. We will not give up. We will not despair as if all hope is lost.
* We will not listen to the lies which we are constantly being told.
* We will be brave! We will have courage and boldness, because there are more for us than against us! Our King Jesus commands armies of angels!
* We will be brave! We will have courage and boldness, because there are more of us than we realize!
Red, white, and blue … there’s hope in view!
