The Lodgepole Pine December 30, 2015

Read John 12:24-26

Isaiah 43:19      See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

2 Corinthians 5:17     Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Isaiah 35:1     The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus,

Isaiah 35:6     Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 41:18     I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.

On a recent trip to South Dakota and Wyoming I learned about the lodgepole pine, a tree native to the area. One of its unusual characteristics is its serotinous cone, which means that it releases its seeds when exposed to extreme heat. This results in the propagation of new trees after a forest fire. When told about this, I marveled at the intricacy of God’s creation, which has a plan designed to sustain life in the midst of destruction.

We sometimes experience “forest fires” of tragedy and suffering in our lives, resulting from forces outside ourselves and sometimes from our own sin. In the midst of these events in our lives, it can be difficult to see how God will bring good from the situation. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jer. 29:11). I know from personal experience that we often feel God’s love and healing most powerfully in difficult situations. In all circumstances, God can bring transformation and new life.