When The Mighty Oaks Fall…

For about 14 years, I had a radio program called CenterPoint. The person who produced my program was a recording-producer who was a member of my church.

A few years back, we had a series of storms and tornadoes come through our area, and there was a LOT of damage throughout the region. On our first visit back to the studio after the storms, while there was no damage to his home or studio, there was significant damage to my producer’s property (it was actually determined by the NWS that a tornado had, in fact, passed across the back of his property). He told me that the thing that really made an impression was that, although he had many smaller pine trees (which in our area have very shallow roots, and fall fairly regularly), it was actually several mighty oak trees that fell. In one place, three that were close to each other fell together, decimating everything around them… including some trees that were larger. He told me that, while he was never surprised when the pines fell, he never really concerned himself with the oaks. They seemed nearly invincible.

Sometimes, what happens in the natural is a picture of what is going on in the spirit. How many times have we put our trust in something or someone we deem greater than ourselves, only to watch them fall, and leave those around devastated? How many times have we looked at the “mighty oaks” in our lives for security, only to watch them collapse, and leave us questioning everything else? How often have we seen the “small trees” in our life lead to the demise of that in which we placed an inordinate amount of faith and trust, leaving us shaken and confused?

So, what is their problem? How could they let us down like that? How could they put us in this “crisis of faith”?

Maybe the problem is not with them at all.

Maybe the problem is with us. Maybe it is our unreasonable expectations and misplaced faith that led us to this place of crisis.

Putting our faith and trust in anything or anyone but God will, inevitably, lead to disappointment. After all, He is the only One with the ability to make good on such a promise…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge Him,
    and He shall direct your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Sometimes, when all is stripped away, we find that the love of God is the only thing we have left.

However, it is at those lowest of times that we find that the love of God is all that we really need.