Mushrooming

I woke up at 4 a.m. mulling over various situations in my life and struggling with feelings of anxiety. After tossing and turning for about a half an hour, I decided that I needed to get up and spend some time in reading and prayer. I opened my Bible and my eyes fell on a passage in Hebrews 5:7-10. 

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus, who was the Son of God, chose a posture of humility and obedience as He went through suffering. At any point He could have said, "Enough is enough!" But He didn't do that. He willingly chose to submit to God's will because through HIs obedience and His ultimate sacrifice, we have atonement. 

As I read this passage, God reminded me that as I walk through my own struggles and at times, suffering, I can either resist and rant and rave about it or I can follow Christ's example and learn obedience as I walk through it.

One attitude will produce dissatisfaction and depression and a feeling of an entitled, "I don't deserve this." The other attitude produces humility and grace and the ability to serve Him better. 

Mushrooms grow best in an environment where there is a lot of moisture and little light. They thrive where they can feed off of decayed matter of the forest. Wild mushrooms can handle temperatures that vary from 40-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The amazing thing about mushrooms is that in certain conditions they can grow rapidly. And their growth occurs in conditions where other plants would quickly die.

Often, we want our circumstances to stay the same. We want perfect conditions in our lives and have difficulty handling the varying "temperatures" or trials that come our way. Yet, Hebrews 6 tells us to give up the elementary teachings of Christ and to grow in maturity. The writer tells his readers that by now, they should be eating meat and not still drinking milk. Maturity happens as we face the hard things in life and stay rooted in Christ. When we do that then growth happens much more rapidly.

He is our example as we walk on the hard paths of life. May we all learn to follow where He leads and mushroom up into maturity.