Life Is like a Pack of Pansies - Martin Wiles

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Philippians 4:12 NLT

Forest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” For us, life was like a pack of pansies.

Each year, after the hot temperatures of summer had passed, my wife and I would visit a local retailer to buy pansies. And each year we would watch as the pansies looked the same in the spring as they had when we planted them in the fall.

One year, we decided to visit a local greenhouse that had a reputation for healthier plants. We bought a flat, planted them in pots, and watched them blossom and grow during the winter. When spring arrived, our pots overflowed with beautiful pansies.

Since the pansies had done so well, we decided to buy them from the same greenhouse the next year. But that year, we were disappointed. Throughout the fall and winter months, they just sat in the pots, looking the same as they did when we first planted them. When spring arrived, they were smaller than when we had planted them and were even decorated with some dead leaves.

Forest didn’t know what kind of chocolates he would get in life; we never know what kind of pansies we’re going to get either.

Paul’s life mimicked chocolates and pansies. He never knew what was coming as he marched across his world, spreading the love of Jesus Christ. Some accepted, grew spiritually, and continued spreading the good news. Others rejected his message, and still others attempted to kill him.

One thing Paul never did was question God’s goodness. Neither should we when the unproductive or difficult times come. God remains good all the time, whether or not the events of our life seem good. He works behind the scenes in ways we can’t observe, and He always does so with love, His glory, and our best in mind.

Often, the periods when it seems nothing is happening in our lives—or when it appears that everything is going wrong—are the times when God is preparing us for a new mission, which may require more spiritual fortitude on our part.

In the good and in the not-so-good times—when the pansies don’t grow and the piece of chocolate is nasty—lean on God and let Him complete His work in your life.

Prayer: Father, we trust You to guide us through each circumstance of life.

Tweetable: Is your life like a pack of pansies? 

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