The Spirit in Our Minds

The annual mess of autumn leaves in my yard sparked something I had never considered before: the leaves fall because their work is done.

Curious, I researched and learned that leaves fall off to protect the tree. No longer converting sunlight into energy, the dry leaves put the tree at risk for disease and broken limbs. This lifeless foliage falls away in preparation for new growth yet to come. The very things that fed the tree must now fall off for it to survive.

But these fallen leaves serve a secondary purpose. They release essential nutrients that nourish the tree roots as the leaves decay into the soil. This happens when the trees are most vulnerable and cannot generate their own energy. This life-sustaining process is not visible. Likewise, the reason we need to release things (or people) isn’t always apparent. Nevertheless, it is still necessary that we drop dead things so we can thrive.

Our frustrations often stem from holding on to lifeless things. We unknowingly invite disorder and unease by clinging to things that drain us instead of sustaining us. Learning how to let go is vital for our growth. God may prompt us to explore new opportunities or relationships. Doing this may also require us to make room for them.

Unfortunately, dead relationships, habits, and influences rarely fall away. We must choose to release them. Even then, they can stubbornly hang on. Yet our faithful Father eventually sends turbulent weather to shake them off—just as He does for the trees. Every adversity is not an attack. Our storms clear the way for new things to grow.

Take stock of what is dead. Is there anything that stinks? Forget your guilt, regret, would haves, and should haves. Let go of fruitless habits. Make room and look forward to new opportunities. We have far more to be grateful for than God ever asks us to lose. Trust God and let it go.

DANGER …TRAIL CLOSED … NO HIKING

The sign stopped me in my tracks. I was in the middle of nowhere on a solo hike that had gone perfectly fine until now. “Okay, Lord, now what?” was my prayer as I looked around, contemplating my next steps.  

I’m an avid hiker. The challenge of hiking a new trail, seeing beautiful scenery, and capturing unique photos exhilarates me. In extreme weather conditions, with a partner or alone, every day is a good day for a hike.

The most important aspect of hiking is preparation. I spend as much time planning as I do hiking. First, I must consider the trail’s location, length, and difficulty. Then there’s mundane stuff to consider: snacks, hydration, a map, and proper attire. There are other details to ponder, but you get the idea.

Once, I set off on a new trail, map in hand, just as I had done dozens of other times. I had hiked about two-thirds of the trail when a large DANGER sign suddenly loomed before me. Now what? The trail app directed me to go one way, but a clear warning sign told me otherwise. I took a deep breath and studied my trail app, comparing what I saw on my phone to my surroundings and finally decided on what appeared to be the route other hikers had taken instead of the original trail.

Proverbs clearly tells us that we can plan, but God ultimately gets us where we’re going in His timing and in His way. We see examples of this in Scripture with Paul and his intended journeys. Paul always sought God’s will for his life and travels. However, God didn’t always allow Paul to reach all his proposed destinations. Regardless, Paul trusted in God’s sovereignty.

Our spiritual walk with God frequently parallels my real-life situation. The clock, calendar, and needs of others often dictate our lives. Life doesn’t always work out as we script it. Scripture instructs us to plan, but it also tells us to seek God’s will for our lives in the process.

Make a point to regularly seek God’s wisdom and desire for your life through daily prayer and Scripture reading. 

I am a big fan of those wood-fired pizza places that let you build your own pie. I love getting unlimited toppings as I seek to recreate Peter’s vision in Acts 10, where he sees all the world’s animals and is commanded to eat. I’d also like a bit of raw veggies on top after it finishes cooking, but that’s not an option. Health regulations require everything to go through the fire so that no contamination remains.

That’s the way things work in the kingdom of heaven. Tainted desires lead to tainted outcomes, but what God gives us in His grace is a blessing without pain. We see this in the alcoholic and the compulsive gambler, but it’s just as present in the person who dreams that the next promotion will give them the significance they crave, the person who imagines that the next date will fulfill them, or the pizza aficionado who imagines that just a few more spicy toppings will bring culinary satisfaction instead of heartburn.

But those are all lies. The Bible calls it idolatry and offers a solution: give it up. Doing so demonstrates that God has given us more than we need. This is a part of why we give to God, not because He needs our money but because we need to release it. Just as the oven cooks food and the refiner’s fire purifies metal, so also the act of offering up our excess turns what could be a worldly addiction into something that brings joy and blessing as it passes through the cleansing fire.

Of course, God has other options. He can withhold from us what we desire more than Him. Or He can relent and say, “Fine, your will be done,” until our desires enslave us, and we call out for deliverance. Either way, only after we humble ourselves and seek God’s kingdom first is it fitting for Him to add all the other things we call for.

So, what in your life do you mistakenly believe will bring you joy, safety, meaning, or blessing? Let those things pass through the fire so God can cleanse you of any unhealthy dependence.

As I tutored one day, my student and I discussed the real world ahead.

AI and robotic integration threaten many jobs in society over the next five to fifty years. As seniors who guide our society's future, we must support teenagers' human spark of creativity. We must continue using our strengths to innovate and evolve our thoughts while hoping these young people can develop their creative approaches.

As Christians, we believe God is the Creator. John's wise words of counsel guide us to appreciate God's progress and guidance.

We can regard ourselves as a thinking species, constantly inventing something new. We can also develop our role as custodians of the world with all its inhabitants and creatures. There are no perfect solutions for climate change or to prevent the extinction of other species and plants. But God, the Creator, made these too.

Even in modern times, we can foster our human gifts and keep on creating that human touch. We can guide society's future to learn the benefits of God's diversity and His great gifts of creation, including our human natures. God does not want anyone to give up the ghost.

Trust in God's path ahead. He created and controls everything. 

I love spending the night at a hotel when my husband and I are on a road trip. I book the room online so all we must do is check in at the front desk, receive our room key, and traipse off to our resting place.

But on one such trip, something disconcerting happened. Slipping the key card into the locking device on the door did not make the little red light turn green. The door handle refused to budge. What was wrong? Our credit card was good, we had paid for the room, and the desk clerk gave us this room number and directions on how to find it.

Back to the front desk, we had to go. The hotel manager had made a mistake. She sent us to the wrong room but easily remedied her mistake. And it turned out that the room intended for us was nicer than the room we tried to access.

After praying unceasingly, I often wonder why I don’t receive what I ask Jesus for. I recently noticed that Jesus didn’t say we’d receive what we specifically ask for, but we will definitely receive. We may not find what we’re looking for, but we will discover what God knows we need. The door we knock on might not be the one we should go through, but a door will open to allow us to enter the best that Jesus has for us.

Asking, seeking, and knocking involve repeated actions in our relationship with the Lord. Be faithful in these actions and see what God will do.