You don't choose your own soil!

Bloom where you're planted, so the saying goes.  

Where are you planted?  Do you like the "pot?"  Or does your soil smell like manure?

When you belong to Christ, HE decides what soil is best for your growth.  It may not look, feel, or smell like the kind of soil you want.  That is of no import.

What matters is that we trust Him to choose the best soil for us.

Throughout Scripture, we see less than desirable "soil" that God's chosen were planted in.  They were too busy obeying and trusting God to worry or care about the pain or sacrifice.  They knew, as we should, that following God will always cost us something, but that He is more than worth it.

It's not easy to give up control for some people.  So much so that they never fully surrender to God.  Big mistake.

It's a matter of pride when you get to the root of it.  "I know better," is what you're really saying, though not out loud.  Really? You know better than the Omniscient God who made you?!

Most people spend their lives trying to control or maintain their circumstances to suit them, to make them more comfortable.  

But as Christians, when we truly submit to Jesus as Lord over our lives, we are no longer in charge.  Jesus is running the show.

As Director, He chooses where we are "planted."  Whether or not we like the "stage" He chooses for us matters not.

It's not like He's out to make our lives miserable!  Quite the contrary.

But He is a Master at what He does, which is this:  He provides His wonderful Spirit inside of us whose fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  All we have to do is tap into it.  We are truly rich when we belong to Christ!

If you unpack this list, it is everything anyone could ever want or dream of in life.  But most are barking up the wrong tree for them.

Trying to keep the status quo may provide a surface kind of love, joy, peace, etc.

But the only way to obtain these qualities in a deeper way is through a connection to Christ. 

So when my circumstances are not what I would choose for myself, I always come back to this: 

God is in control of my life
God knows best about where He places me for His purposes, His glory, and my best
God is more concerned with my heart and my inner transformation than my outer circumstances
God is producing in me His glorious fruit through whatever circumstances He has me in, if I let Him!

Much of the time, my "soil" is heartache, loss, rejection, not fitting in, opposition, and the like.  

How do these make for good soil?!

Whatever pushes me closer to Christ is for my benefit.  Whatever moves me closer to Him, whatever draws me closer to Him, whatever burns away the dross, whatever produces eternal fruit in me - these are what matter to the Lord and therefore, because I am His, what matters to me.

I could go on and on about how the most fruitful times in my life were when I was the most "crushed," when circumstances were beyond my control (less than ideal).  I could go on and on about countless examples in the Bible about how God poured through the lives the most and glorified Himself the most in those who were in dire straits.

I don't know why it works this way, but it does.

So if you truly belong to the Lord, then do not bemoan the "stage" on which He has placed you, or the "pot" in which He has planted you.  Know that it is always:

For your best
For His glory
For the furtherance of His Kingdom
Temporary

We are truly just passing through, kiddos.  The sooner we get a grasp on this, the sooner we let go of all that entangles us and keeps us tied to this world.

Perspective.  That's what God gives us when we follow Him wherever He leads.  Our lives are not supposed to look like those in the world.

We bloom where God plants us not in ways that the world applauds.  They may even deride our circumstances, our "pot," but who cares?  God is my Judge, not the world.  

We've been mislead to think that if we just "update" our homes with the latest and greatest - makeovers! - that we will then bloom better.  

But becoming complacent amd more comfortable has nothing to do with lasting, spiritual fruit.  Paul did not write his precious letters that make up most of the New Testament from a palace, but from a prison.  Nice "pot?"  Not on your life!

We have it backwards.  Mostly God uses "prisons" in our lives to bring out His most valuable fruit in us, not the spanking new "bonus room" we add to our home.

Let's trust God's choices for us knowing that He indeed knows best.

Lord Jesus, change our hearts, minds, and perspectives to see our lives as You do.  Help us let go of all that is passing and grab hold of You and Your purposes for us instead.  And when we get sucked into the images on social media of the supposed "perfect" surroundings and lives of those who have posted in vain, bring us back to Reality!  Thank You for always knowing the very best soil in which to plant us, Father God.  Use us for Your Kingdom!  Use us to proclaim Your truth and worth!  Use us in any ways that You deem fit!  For You alone are Lord and worthy of giving our lives to.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.