A few years later, the third lonely tree unceremoniously had two of its
great branches hammered together, and much to its horror had a Man nailed
to it in crucifixion. And when it heard that Man cry out, “Father, into Your
hands I commit My spirit,” it realized that it would forever be a great symbol
of God’s closeness to us.
The moral of this story is that when you have anxiety for the future, always
know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will
always provide for you. Each of the trees got what it wanted, and even more
than it had ever dreamed, just not in the way it had imagined. Of how much
more value are you than these trees or those lilies of the field? We don’t know
what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways; but
His ways are always best.
So when you are in a state of anxiety, worrying about the future or
regretting the past, when you find yourself getting caught up in worldly
affairs and doubts start to overwhelm you, then remember these lessons. Keep
yourself focused on eternal, heavenly things – the big rocks – and all the Lord’s
blessings will be added unto you.
The angels exist in a state of peace because they have this unwavering belief
that the Lord will provide for them every day what they need. (See Arcana
Coelestia 2493) They are content in the present moment because they trust
in the Lord. They have come to recognize that the Lord’s “Divine providence
is overall, that it is present in the most minute details, and that people in
the stream of providence are being carried along constantly toward happier
things,” and into “a state of peace.” (Ibid. 8478:4).
So the question is not whether it is true that the Lord will lead us into a
state of peace, but whether we really believe it in our hearts and in our souls.
And so the Lord assures us through the prophet Jeremiah:
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Jehovah, and whose hope is the Lord. For he
shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river,
and he will not fear when heat comes; for his leaf will be green, and he will not be
anxious in the year of drought, nor will he cease from bearing fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
Amen.
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