Winds of Trial

    Awake, north wind! 
      Rise up, south wind! 
    Blow on my garden 
      and spread its fragrance all around. 
    Come into your garden, my love; 
      taste its finest fruits. 

Song of Solomon 4:16

Have you ever tried to put out something on fire by waving it back and forth? Have you ever tried to stop a campfire by blowing on it? It doesn't necessarily work all too well does it? In fact it tends to make the fire stronger and brighter. There are also those little packets of powder that you can buy at the store that claim to make fire effects. On their own they are just packets of powder...But tossed into a fire and you see them come alive. They change the color and burn bright and beautiful. So it is with the qualities in the life of a follower of Jesus. Sometimes that North Wind of Suffering blows across our life. Sometimes that South Wind of Adversity feels like it will wreak havoc on our very soul. But if you send a wind across a fragrant and growing garden, it spreads the fragrance far and wide. A garden lover who smells lilacs in the wind walks down street after street until they find it ... then they often steal a branch to take home ... but regardless, we see that it draws people.

Every follower of Jesus you meet, including yourself, can attest to experiencing winds of trial at some point or another. These winds, while full of trial, come to shake things up and spread a beautiful fragrance to the people around. You see, through the trials we see Christ standing next to us. He supports, encourages, and walks through the trials with us. We are never alone.