What the Forest Knows

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble…A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”—Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12 NLT

The forest knows, because God knows…

Earlier this summer, several towering oaks that had begun to drape themselves over my house were taken down piece by piece, under the skillful watch and hands of a team of arborists. All of a sudden, the sky opened up and much of what had been dark or shaded in my back yard woods was now engulfed in light. Smaller trees were now free to dance when the wind blew.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on those—often, the larger ones help them stand strong in a storm, but on their own, well, they can get into trouble.” The arborist probably didn’t realize he was uttering a modernized version of Solomon’s wisdom from Ecclesiastes, but as he writes elsewhere in the same book, “for everything, there is a season…”

And a reason.

Several weeks later, on a perfectly beautiful day when all was going well and much was being accomplished, and the warmth of the sun and the breeze were better than any multivitamin ever created...broadsided. A conversation remembered that the adversary used to rekindle lying words of accusation, and anxiety, and a strange sense that God was out of the picture on this one. The serpent’s voice from Eden took its cue: “Did God really say?….”

Suddenly alone in a forest of high winds, I was like those saplings floundering for strength. And it is in these broadside crashes of testing when the choice becomes: suck it up like a man and a good independent New Englander and work it out yourself, or call 9-1-1. There are plenty of occasions when the former is an admirable trait, but in moments like these, the best course of action is often to call on a stronger tree.

“Got your back... That’s what I’m here for.”

More than just good a vibe, something supernatural happened as I heard those words. Whatever the broadside was, its stranglehold suddenly began to relent.

There is clearly something comforting when you know someone else is praying or standing with you, but when God is in the middle of it as that “triple-braided cord,” there’s much more (unexplainable) power going on behind the scenes…

…at about the same time that 9-1-1 call concluded, I looked up, and before my eyes was this:

On this day, it wasn’t just another pretty woodland landscape. Instead, it was engulfed in incredible beauty, order, and peace. Tree upon tree, some leaning on others, standing strong and erect together. First, "woah!" and then inner laughter as I thought of my backyard and the words of the arborist: “We’ll have to keep an eye on those—often, the larger ones help them stand strong in a storm, but on their own, well, they can get into trouble.” 

Ecclesiastes, the Word of the LORD, in living color.

Coincidence? I think not. Solomon and many other authors of the Bible’s books continually seek to compare the nature of the perfect God to what can be seen in imperfect nature all around us. It’s not even close, but it’s the closest thing they can think of. “Every analogy between God and natural things,” says John Piper, “is imperfect and will distort if you press it. Nevertheless!…”

The Divine intent is never to worship nature, no matter how much we love it. But we can love it full-on because nature is God’s 24/7 navigator to the One who is worthy of all worship with heart, soul, mind, and strength.  He speaks to me, to us, about Himself, everywhere, every season.

Even on this dark, late fall morning, there is the sound of rain, and with it, a reminder to soak in His presence this new day and seek to be fruitful—not just a hearer of good Words. And, that I can rest in God’s power behind it all to pull off whatever He wants done, even if and when I get broadsided….

“For as the rain and snow can’t go back once they’ve fallen

But soak into the ground and nourish the plants that grow

Providing seed to the farmer and bread for the hungry,

So it is when I declare something.

My Word will go out and not return to Me empty,

But it will do what I wanted;

It will accomplish what I determined.”—Isaiah 55:10-11, The Voice

So be it, yet again, for all who pass by here….