Letting Go

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of them all." What does that mean? I think it means that it is rare for people to prosper through hard times. Why? Why is it so hard to be successful when times are tough? 

For me personally when a lot of hard things happen at once it is hard to see anything except what is being thrown at me. Looking beyond what is right in front of me is a challenge. It's when I am trying to take control of everything on my own and I'm carrying my own burden that I can't see past my own situation.

But God didn't design us to carry our own burdens. He came and died and rose again so that He could carry them for us. For me. For you. 

Psalm 68:19  says "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

But notice in the verse in Matthew that it is our job to come to Jesus, it is our job to receive His rest. He offers rest, and a light burden instead of the heavy one we carry ourselves, but we need to be willing to give over our control. 

Letting go of control is one of the hardest things I have done, and I continue to struggle with it.  But I've been taught over and over that His control is beautiful. And the more I hand over, the less overwhelmed I feel. His yoke, and light burden bring hope and joy. 

So to me, a flower that blooms in adversity is a picture of someone choosing to hand over their burdens to the Lord and gathering the reward. When our soul has rest, we can rise above adversity and bloom.

Beautiful.