This morning, the fall colors called me outside for a walk, and, as usual, I ended up in the garden—even though the only living things that remain are the zinnias and the dahlias. I’m cheering the dahlias on in their race against the frost. The buds are there, but having planted them in a spot with insufficient light… Well, they’re doing the best they can right now, and I will do better when I plant the bulbs next spring.
No matter where one lives, gardening is always an act of faith, but Mainers in October live and move and have our being under the shadowy threat of the first frost. I’ve harvested my butternut squash, and I’ll be watching the nighttime temperatures for the sake of the yellow, potted mum on the back deck.
The threat is definitely real. Frost is relentless and unforgiving.
Counting dahlia buds and feeling the chill in the air, I wondered if some of our pervasive anxiety as believers is related to our view of God. Although he has revealed himself as loving and forgiving, and we confess that Christ has absorbed God’s wrath in his substitutionary death, we’re not quite sure. A sinewy, trustworthy love seems too good to be true.
Our fear of a capricious and brittle God turns faith into something we do to protect us from God’s chilling ways. Instead of “faith [as] the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” we operate out of a mindset that holds faith as the protection against things feared, the lightning rod for things not understood. (Hebrews 11:1)
I wonder if some of our pervasive anxiety as believers is related to our view of God. Our fear of a capricious and brittle God turns faith into something we do to protect us from God’s chilling ways.
Tweet
Because God’s love is not frangible, friable or frosty, we need not fear that we’ll break through it into estrangement or condemnation. Jesus spoke about a narrow way, but he never mentioned a tightrope.
Today, you can agree and be glad that faith allows you to look back on the questions and all that is unsolved in your life and say, “I believe.” Being drawn into your own story and accepting it by faith will free you to travel forward without fear.
We can commit ourselves to a trustworthy God—not because we already understand, but because we are willing to seek understanding, to dig deeper into scripture where we are reassured of his wisdom, and to cast our anxiety upon the God who manages the tides and our times, who “scatters frost like ashes.”
Holding You in the Light,
Because God’s love is not frangible, friable or frosty, we need not fear that we’ll break through it into estrangement or condemnation. Jesus spoke about a narrow way, but he never mentioned a tightrope.
Tweet
Free Encouragement in Your Inbox!
On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first.
CLICK HERE to read my most recent newsletter where you’ll be given the opportunity to subscribe. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and I want to help you along that path.
Looking for Challenging Devotional Reading that Encourages You to Seek Intimacy with God Every Day?
As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to the reading plans!
Living Our Days 
“race against the frost” That is multimeaningful isn’t it? Seems like the third line in a haiku.
LikeLike
I hadn’t thought of it, but you are absolutely right!
LikeLike
Deep and wide, deep and wide! And “race against the frost” feels like the last line in a haiku. You are always so inspirational!
LikeLike
You have a gift for haiku!
LikeLike
leaves signal big change
warm days fall back with the clock
race against the frost
sorry about the double post – I have trouble with wordpress sometimes. :-]
LikeLike
I am down here in Massachusetts and we’ve come pretty close to a first frost. My daughter’s sister in law told me there was snow in Rangely last week.
LikeLike
Yes, and of course on Katahdin. My oldest son and his daughter summited a few weekends ago, but it was rough going.
Always good to get the Southern New England perspective!
LikeLike
I have a new and new favorite word: frangiable! Reading this made me think I wish I had a book of your writings on my shelf – your gift for wordsmithing messages for our souls is five-sensory soul food! I grew up holding on to a God who seemed so very hard to please – like a parent who would withhold dinner if you didn’t hit all the checkmarks. I knew who He was but I didn’t know who I was to Him. I didn’t understand about a fathers love for his child. That made all the difference – when I realized I was His child – not just one in a gazillion child who struggled with math in a school room full of rows filled with the world. Not just His child – but a beloved, precious child who can burst into His office at any time, and He is happy I have come. BTW – Maine is a bucket-list trip of mine!
LikeLike
I have lived with that same check mark God. It’s a wonder we both survived!
Maine is wonderful—but choose the timing carefully 😊
LikeLike
Gardening is an act of faith, Michele!
LikeLike
That’s an important point!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lucky you Michele. We woke to a mini blizzard and snow on the hanging flowers…. Just in time for my flight to spend time with grands in a more temperate zone!
LikeLike
Oh! What an abrupt change of season!
Enjoy every minute with those sweet grands!
LikeLike
Love the poetic turns of phrase you used in this. And really loved the comforting reminder that God’s love is so reliable.
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed reading and were drawn to celebrate God’s goodness!
LikeLike
What an important reminder today. I hadn’t really thought of faith in that way, but you’re right: it’s so easy sometimes to think of it as a shield for an exacting god. But God isn’t one to relish in reminding us of all the ways we fail. Wonderful post.
LikeLike
Thanks, Ashley—God is so much more loving, so incredibly FOR us, than we remember!
LikeLike
Love this: “Today, you can agree and be glad that faith allows you to look back on the questions and all that is unsolved in your life and say, “I believe.” Being drawn into your own story and accepting it by faith will free you to travel forward without fear.”
LikeLike
Thank you for reading, Debbie!
LikeLike
Beautiful, Michele! Also trying not to be jealous of your weather as we are in the 80s again today and in desperate need of rain. 🙂
LikeLike
I keep hearing about everywhere stuck in summer and longing for autumn! Wish I could blow some crisp breezes and rustling leaves your way!
LikeLike
I never thought of it quite that way, that we often use faith as a shield of protection from God instead of glorious access to His fatherhood and presence. But, I am sorry to say, I lived that way for too many years. I’m thankful God helped us see Him differently over time.
LikeLike
I think the same thing is true of theology when it’s misused. We use categories and definitions to protect ourselves from the wild and unpredictable God of the Bible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fall is here in Colorado, too, and I certainly remember that beautiful season in Maine! I think sometimes the beauty of fall can help us trust that spring will come again and learn to trust God through difficult winters, too!
LikeLike
Yes, a beautiful fall fortifies our souls for the rigors of winter!
LikeLike
Loved this >>>> “Today, you can agree and be glad that faith allows you to look back on the questions and all that is unsolved in your life and say, “I believe.” Being drawn into your own story and accepting it by faith will free you to travel forward without fear.” I am so grateful for the love of God which frees us to move forward in life without fear. You bring to mind, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
LikeLike
I’m still learning to trust his heart, but when I’m in the place of accepting God’s love as the biggest thing in the room, I am least fearful.
LikeLike
We grow squash, including pumpkins, but cannot keep them on the vines or as outside decoration as long as you can New England! Our first frost generally arrives by the end of September, so we watch the weather, then harvest the day before an expected frost, and then allow the squash to ripen off the vine in an enclosed building. We have a cart full of pumpkins that we roll in and out of our garage to allow the squash to ripen in the sun. No, God’s love is never frosty, even if we become “frosty” to Him — we just need to look up and bathe in His light.
LikeLike
The squash cart is a brilliant idea. I’ve often wished that we celebrated Thanksgiving in October as Canadians do, because for those of us in Northern climates, harvest is LONG gone by the end of November.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful reflection on faith and gardening! I agree that gardening, much like faith, requires patience and trust, especially in challenging conditions. It is interesting how you connected the unpredictability of the frost with our own anxieties about God’s love—your reminder that His love is unbreakable and trustworthy is exactly the reassurance we need in times of doubt. I appreciate how you intertwine both the natural world and spiritual growth in such a meaningful way.
LikeLike
Thank you for these encouraging observations. I am a firm believer in the connection between the world we can see and the unseen spiritual realities—which are more real to me every year that I live!
LikeLike