Stop Hugging The Trees!

When it comes to matters of the heart, we often allow our hurts and past negative outcomes to dictate how we handle new relationships. Because we have been abused, misused and confused, we stumble and bumble our way through life. Our desire to be loved is outweighed by our desire to not be hurt again. We have allowed the “trees” of our experiences to block our view of God’s bountiful forest. As it concerns whether or not to enter into a potential relationship, we often cannot see the forest for the trees.

Each time we let a potential romantic partner get away because we feared the worst from that relationship, we are hugging a tree and missing the divinely inspired view of a beautiful forest. When we sit back and hope against hope that love will find us without any effort on our part, we are dancing a foolish dance with trees that hide the endless possibilities on display in the forest of a blessed life. All of those instances when we have cried ourselves to sleep because of loneliness or depression or frustration and we resolved to build a bigger and stronger fortress around our hearts, we are crouching behind a bush so that we don’t have to face the responsibility that comes with exploring the forest that God is calling us to enter.

It’s time we stop hugging the trees! The more we stare at that tree, the more it appears to grow into something that we cannot handle. How can we serve a God so powerful, yet we accept being so powerless? “That person broke my heart. He or she has not returned my calls. Why won’t they email me? Why doesn’t anyone ask me out on a date? Can’t I find someone to love me for me?” The answer to all of these questions is “no” if you continue looking for the solutions in a tree!

The forest beckons you. What does it represent?

• ABUNDANCE - When God blesses, it is usually in abundance.
• REDEMPTION - We have allowed ourselves to be held victims to our past, but God holds the key to unlock the doors keeping us from reaching our potential.
• RESTORATION - That which you have lost or foolishly given away, God is ready to return to you in greater measure than what has vanished.
• EMPOWERMENT - God will position you to not only receive His favor, but also empower you to help others to receive His blessings.
• SALVATION - When God “saves” you, He does so physically, emotionally and spiritually.
  

You wonder, “Is it possible? Can this be true? You mean there is a world of possibilities beyond these scrawny trees that I have been clinging to?” Even before the last words of these questions leave your mouth, hope sticks its head in the door of your heart and says, “Most definitely yes!”

You have followed your “foolish hearts” long enough, but “don’t stop there” where so many others have given up. Stop hugging those trees and start embracing the unbelievably magnificent dreams that God is holding out to you. As you encounter new relationships, accept and expect nothing less than the BEST because that is what God is trying to grant you.

Tomorrow’s Post - “Have You Lost That Loving Feeling?”