A bed of roses

I had a very physically and emotionally taxing week, and I admit, at times, I wondered "Where is God?" I was gently rebuked at church today when I came face to face with these verses in the psalms.


Psalms 84:10-12


For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!


-no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly-. Can you imagine that? That actually means that our lives will be beds of roses! Now before you start to protest against the statement, please pause and think about what a bed of roses actually entails. Because of mainstream popular culture, we were all brought up to believe that the expression 'life is a bed of roses' means that life is easy and fantastic. If you have ever seen a bed of roses however, you would know that in reality, the flowers are indeed very beautiful and fragrant, but that there are sharp thorns along the stems of these wonderful creations.


God made roses to bring colour, fragrance and brightness into the world, but lets not forget the thorns. Our wise God created this flower to bear a remarkable resemblance to what the life of a Christian should be. Beautiful yes, but also character-building trials(thorns) shape us into more Christ-like believers. Take heart whenever you feel like all you see are thorns, that just as there are no roses without thorns, there are also no thorns without roses. Hang in there :)


xx
grace