Kansas fields

 “The farmer doesn’t burn his land to destroy it”, I heard as I drove through the rolling hills of Kansas. “The farmer burns his land in hopes that it may yield a better crop”. If you’re not from Kansas, you may not understand this visual picture. Spring in Kansas means controlled burns through the flint hills. The farmer contours a boundary line with fuel across his land, then sets ablaze his field. The fire ravages through his land consuming all in its path, and often comes up to the very boundary of where the highway meets the prairie grass. It has nothing left to burn, so it dies out. So here I was, driving through the flint hills towards Manhattan, KS. I watched as the smoke billowed towards the sky, the fire rage consuming all in its path, and the land being left black and charred. As the Lord often does, He used nature and creation to bring me back to scripture and the truth of His character. 

Weeks earlier, I had been captivated with things in scripture. The Lord had prepared me with great truths from His word. I had writings all in my Bible of reminders that gold is put in the fire to refine, not destroy. That trials come to purify and draw us close, not to consume. That we are allowed to be sifted like wheat so the worthless chaff of sin can be beat out of us. That the fires come to bring new life. That the tree is cut down to its stump, so that it can burst forth with new life. And here I found myself, with all these truths from Gods word- walking in the dark of my trial. My pain and my suffering had almost blinded me from remembering what the Lord had woven into my mind.  So, like a good Father- He was using this visual picture, to remind me of the spiritual truths He had sown in my mind- inviting me to let them seep into my heart and truly believe them. To allow them to be an anchor for me when I couldn’t see what He was doing. His word was to be my guiding rudder in life. His word was to steady my heart and make me strong in the midst of deep suffering and pain. 

Just as the farmer draws boundaries to where the fire can not move beyond, so my Heavenly Father has also laid boundaries and will not allow my suffering to go on any longer than needed. Just as the farmer sets his land on fire in hope of future growth, so my Father allows trials in hope of birthing something new. Just as the fire consumes all in its path, so I am asking the Lord to consume everything that isn’t in line with His character in me. And just as the fire makes the land more fertile (though it look black and charred), so my God is breaking new grounds in my heart though my life look dark. Psalm 25 states that all the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth, everything He does or allows stems from the root of His character- love. And if we trust that His heart beats with love over us- a pure sinless love- our souls can rest in His character and nature. Though the fires rage, and the smoke billow- He remains. 

I don’t know how this trial will end, but I do know the One who holds my hand, who steadies my heart, and who leads me in the dark- with the light of His word and faithfulness of His character. Therefore, I can have hope.