Bent But Not Broken

     Rat-a-tat-tat echoes throughout our neighborhood these days as roofers work on repairing what Hurricane Irma took from many of us.  It is an almost daily sound in our area and still there are many more rooftops waiting their turn for help.  Many of our street signs are still bent or missing even after six months have gone by, and while the branches and debris are long gone, there remains scars on the landscape.  In the aftermath of a major storm, we can expect nothing less than the changes brought about by powerful wind.
     On my daily walk, I never cease to be amazed at the number of trees that were bent under the wind but did not break.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we are much like those trees in our lives.  The storms that life brings can be just as powerful leaving us bent but because of Christ, not broken.  Death of a loved one, sickness, depression, broken relationships or financial woes can hit us like a hurricane.  We may think we are prepared for what will come our way, but life here is not always easy or predictable.
     Our Sunday School class is working its way through the sermons on Ephesians given by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.  As we opened the last class, we looked at the first verse of chapter three where Paul states that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  This is a verse, quite frankly, that I have read many times without pausing to really consider what Paul was trying to convey.  Dr. Lloyd-Jones pointed out that Paul was in prison when he penned this letter and made a digression at this point to let the Ephesians know that it was for their glory he was there.  He felt compelled by God's Holy Spirit to make it clear that while the Christian life is joyful it is also filled with the tribulations of the fallen world in which we live.  We will face persecution, misunderstanding and trials but God is there with us in it all.
     As we began to discuss this, we thought of others who have faced enormous challenges such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joni Eareckson Tada, Corrie Ten Boom, and the many Scottish Covenanters who died in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh, Scotland for their faith.  There is no shortage of those who faced injustice because of their stand for Christ.  Paul goes on in this chapter to point out that he was in prison because he preached the Gospel to Gentiles.  Due to the outcry of the Jewish leaders, Paul was arrested.  Yes, it was unfair, unjust and a perversion of law, but Paul saw it in terms of being a prisoner of Christ...not the Roman government.  When we consider his imprisonment, we cannot fail to think of how he used the time to write many of the letters in the New Testament that guide us in our faith today.
     Paul was not only imprisoned, but we know he also suffered stoning, shipwreck, and being bitten by a poisonous serpent.  He had lived through it all but he had learned to be content because he knew that Christ was his Redeemer.  Philippians 4:11-13 says:  "11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength."  This is where the process of growing more Christ-like takes place in the pressure and pain of daily living.
     Irma left many scars in our county that are still being fixed, but those bent trees are a testimony to what a deep root system can do when a mighty storm comes crashing into an area.  Likewise, we may face some hard places, but like Paul, we can look to Christ as our Redeemer and Savior in it all.  Psalm 37:24 reminds us:  "...though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand."  We are in His hands through Christ our Lord.  No matter what we face He will never leave us nor forsake us.  Selah!