No Bed of Roses

 

We have all heard the term "no bed of roses" and most of us understand what that means.  Basically when we say "no bed of roses", we are saying that it won't be easy.  The rose is considered one of the most beautiful flowers but along with the beauty comes the stem.  As pretty as the rose is, it has a stem that has many prickly stickers that can draw blood from someone who isn't careful.

This morning I was reading in Exodus when God had given a promise to Moses and the Hebrews when they were in Egypt.  They were slaves in Egypt but God had a plan.  Here is God's plan:  

Exodus 3:7 Then the LORD told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

What a great plan ~ God was telling Moses that he had seen the situation and had a plan to "lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.  It is flowing with milk and honey..."  This is a great plan.  The Hebrews were getting out of slavery and they were going to have their very own land that was fertile for crops to grow and spacious enough so it wouldn't be crowded.  This is AWESOME!  But now look at the rest of the sentence and what God also was saying...."the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live."  Wait a minute!  Did I read this correctly?  Aren't these "ites" enemies?  It's interesting to me that God was delivering the Hebrews and giving them a wonderful promise of a land that was flowing with milk and honey, but it was already occupied by others.  Don't worry.  God knew what He was doing.  As you continue to read, God uses Joshua to go and conquer these "ites" that God is talking about.

As I read this, I began to think of all the promises that God gives to us.  We like the promises, but we don't like the enemy that we have to overcome in order to "occupy our promised land".  Just like we like the rose but we don't like the thorns that come with the rose.  God gives us promises, but He also wants us to step out and fight in His might and strength to make the promise a reality.  

What about you?  I hear people say, "God promised...." but they haven't done anything to take a step toward that promise.  God's promises are wonderful and they are great but some promises aren't "a bed of roses."  I love the rose, but I have to overcome the thorns to enjoy it.  I love God's promises but many times I have to overcome obstacles (with His help) to enjoy them.

Jesus never promised us a "happy life" but He did promise that we could have "life and life to the full".  This doesn't mean we won't have to deal with the "thorns" that come along with the "rose of life".