Cistus flower photo by Macizo de Teno is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Do you feel like you’re about to burst into flame? Do you feel like your life is nothing but ashes? Take a long look at the Montpelier Cistus plant that grows in the Mediterranean. What an incredible metaphor of redemption! This plant also known as the rock rose produces aromatic, volatile oils that have been reported to self-ignite when the temperature reaches above 96 degrees Fahrenheit! These plants love fire! The fire helps destroy all competing plants in their vicinity and mechanically ruptures its seeds. The heat and smoke trigger germination of the next generation of plants! These Cistus seedlings have a brand-new beginning in fertile ground with no competition!!!!
That is why the scriptures admonish us to: ‘Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
The Cistus shows us that even in the midst of the ‘FIRE’ of circumstances when all seems lost, God will cause a new beginning for you that will be even better than what you lost.
He will work ALL THINGS together for your good! ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’
Romans 8:28.
Remember, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!!!’ Psalm 30:5.
Think about Paul and Silas in prison!!! They were doing exactly what we are admonished to do, they were ‘rejoicing always, praying continually and giving thanks’. Even in the midst of the worst circumstances. This is what the bible says about them when they were in prison; ‘About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Acts 16:25-26.
They were set free and even the jailer accepted Christ and received ETERNAL LIFE!!!
Think about Joseph whose brothers threw him in a pit and sold him as a slave.
Joseph’s brothers ‘took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.’ Genesis 37:24, 28. NKJV.
And what happened to Joseph who faithfully served God despite what his brothers did to him? Joseph became second in command under the Pharaoh in Egypt and ultimately forgave his brothers and was reunited with his father.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
Genesis 41:37.
Just as the scripture says: ‘He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.’ Psalm 40:2-3.
In the words of King David, ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.’ Psalm 41:11.
This Cistus should give you hope! Even in the midst of horrendous circumstances, God is able to raise you up and give you a new beginning!
I love this poem called ‘Hope’ by Emily Dickenson:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tunes without the words
And never stops at all.
Poems of Emily Dickenson
R.W. Franklin, edition
Harvard University Press 1999
Poem # 314.
P.S., The Cistus plant is not the ‘burning bush’ of the scriptures. The burning bush burned without being consumed. ‘The angel of the LORD appeared to (Moses) in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.’ Exodus 3:2.
Click on the following link to see the Cistus burst into flame and its new beginning narrated by David Attenborough on Reddit:
YES! Weeping is not forever…. not does come!
kb
LikeLike
Thank God that joy comes in the morning! 😊
LikeLike