Always Give Thanks: The Dreams Of Three Little Trees.
NOTE: We received the following from a good friend and thought it was so good that we want to share it with you. Unfortunately, the author is unknown. It’s a fairly long read but well worth your time and effort.
NOTE:
We received the following from a good friend and thought it was so good
that we want to share it with you. Unfortunately, the author is unknown. It’s a fairly long read but well worth your time and effort.
1 Chronicles 16:34 (NLT) says “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
Like all of us, the three little trees had their desires and dreams of what they wanted to be in the future.
The first little tree said “I want to be a baby cradle some day. I’ve seen people come through the forest with their little babies and I think a baby is the sweetest thing in the world. I’d like to be made into a baby’s cradle.”
The second little tree said “I don’t want to be that at all. I want to be something more important. I want to be made into a great ship. A strong and beautiful sailing vessel able to carry people up rivers and even over the oceans.”
The third little tree said “I Have only one dream. I would like to stand on a hillside and point man to God. What could a tree do better than that?”
The years passed and the three trees grew strong and tall. One day, the forester came and cut down the first tree. It kept pondering and wondering if I’m going to be made into a baby’s cradle. Instead, it was formed into rough pieces and carefully put together to make a feeding trough for animals “a manger” and that manger was placed in a grubby little stable.
The first tree was heartbroken. “Here I am – shoved into a dark cave (which is what a stable was) with no one but a bunch of dumb animals chewing their cuds. And the tree wept and complained to God over its cruel fate. But God, who loved trees, whispered “Just wait – I’ll show you something” and one day He did!!!
Luke 2:7 (NLT) says “She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”
So in the stillness one night, God laid baby Jesus the Son of God in that manger. The manger quivered with delight and said “Oh – thank you God. Forgive me for complaining. In all my dreams, I never thought I’d get to hold a baby like this one. This is better than all my planning. Thank you. You have allowed me to be a part of a great miracle!!”
All the trees clapped their hands for their brother’s little manger because he had seen his dreams come true and more.
Years passed and the men came and cut down the second tree. It whispered to itself “I wonder if I will be made into a great sailing ship. Perhaps I can do all the exciting things I’ve dreamed about for so long.” The men hacked on the tree and made it into a little fishing boat and dumped it into the waters of a sea called Galilee. Finally, the boat came into the possession of a fisherman by the name of “Simon Peter”. The little boat was very unhappy. It said “Just think that my life has come to this – Simon Peter is not even a good fisherman.” But God who loved trees said “Be patient my child. Just watch, someday I’ll show you something” and He did.
One day, a person named Jesus Of Nazareth” stepped out of the crowd, climbed int the smelly fishing boat, sat down and taught the people the good news of the gospel. The people listened – taking in every word. When Jesus finished teaching, He told Simon Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a catch.
Now Simon Peter had been failing in his fishing business and, at first, he didn’t believe – then he took hold of Jesus’s words and said “Because you say it, I’ll let down my nets again.” And he caught a net breaking boat sinking load – so many fish he had to share them with neighboring fishermen.
Luke 5:1-7 (NLT) says “One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So He sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.”
The little fishing boat trembled at the wonder of it all. “Thank you, God” it said. “Forgive me for ever fussing. This is wonderful. In all my dreams, I never thought I’d carry a cargo like this – Thank you. You have allowed me to be a part of a great miracle. This is far better than all my planning.”
All the trees in the forest began singing and clapping their hands for their brother, the little fishing boat, because he had seen his dreams come true and more.
Several years later, the men came and cut down the third tree. Remember, this tree just wanted to stand there and point people to God. Oh!! It was so unhappy!!! “I don’t want to be cut down and go down into the valley with these people” it said. “Why can’t God just leave me here – pointing people to Him?”
But God said “Be patient my child. Just watch, someday I’ll show you something” and He did.
One day outside Jerusalem, a great crowd gathered. In their midst was Jesus and on His shoulders was this crude heavy cross. As He stumbled, they laid hold of Simon of Cyrene and made him carry the cross to a place called “Calvary”.
Luke 23:26 (NLT) says “As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.”
Then, they crucified Jesus on the cross. The cross shuddered under its weight of “Shame and Agony” until, suddenly, a miracle happened.
Matthew 27:51-52 (NLT) says “At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.”
Then the tree that had become the cross heard the words of a remembered promise.
Luke 24:46-47 (NLT) says “And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’”
The cross began to understand and be sorrowful that it had ever questioned and complained and it said “Oh, thank you God. This is wonderful. I’m part of the greatest miracle of all. In all of my dreams, I never thought I’d get to point people to God in this way – thank you – this is better than all my planning.”
And so it was in all the hundreds of years that trees had stood on the hillsides – not one of them had been able to point a person to God like this tree – the cross of Calvary.
Every since then, trees everywhere have been singing, bowing their heads, clapping their hands, and praising and thanking God that three of their brothers had seen their dreams come true and more.
FINALLY, A NOTE TO ALL OF US.
Always remember to give thanks and know that the challenges ahead of us are never greater than the power of God behind us.
END OF POST
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