In the Dark

“The woman (answered) the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

Genesis 3:2-3 NIV (my emphasis)

A stir-fry was on the menu for the evening.  I washed, cut and separated all the vegetables needed for the dish.  I put them in their different piles, prepared the sauce and readied the big pan for the quick action of the dish.

 

As I looked at the pile of cut veggies, I realized I had forgotten one of our favorites—the all important mushroom.  I went to the fridge and reached all the way to the back of the bin for the fungi.  Darkness is where they began, darkness is where they grew.

 

Can mushrooms teach us a lesson?    Maybe.

 

 

How does one vegetable grow in the dark but so many others need sunlight?  Mushrooms grow and prosper in the dark.  They are given the nutrients they need through fertilizer and treated soil, but direct sunlight would absolutely destroy them.  This is counterintuitive to every other vegetable that so many of us consume.   Sunlight is their essential ingredient.

 

Mushrooms are purposely kept in the dark.

 

God purposely keeps us in the dark.

 

Before the mail and remarks begin my way, let me explain first and see what you think.

 

In the verses at the top of this page, “the woman” (Eve) gives us a glimpse of what God had directed her to do, as heard in her explanation to the serpent (satan).  Can you see what I see, that God was keeping Eve in the dark?

 

We discover, after the fact, that God was not denying Eve—God was protecting Eve.  He purposely kept her in the dark over the details of the fruited tree.  The fruit, the tree, the part of the garden that God said to stay away from was bad for her.  He didn’t give every detail of why it was bad, yet He warned her to stay away.   He wanted to keep her hidden from that which would cause her harm.  Yet, she couldn’t see the benefits of that direction—she could only see being deprived.   She could only focus on being in the dark.   And thus the fall happened.

 

Maybe we are like mushrooms?    God sometimes needs to keep us in the dark in order for us to prosper.  Not in the evil dark, but the protective dark–the dark that has life giving and protective nutrients.

 

“Dear God….I don’t know why this is happening.”   “Why can’t I have a relationship with____?”  “I really want this job.”  “I’ve been asking and asking for______but it just isn’t happening.”     “Why, Why, Why?” …….and so on, and so on.

 

Can you see in Eve’s story, and our own, that God has every intention of protecting us?  Do I dare say, too much knowledge would kill us?  Not the academic knowledge of this world but that which controls the universe. And I recognize this goes against every modern day creed–that we humans can’t possibly know less than God does!

But from the very beginning He continually proves He does. Farther in the book of Genesis, we see for certain that God was not denying the woman of good.  We learn that he was trying to protect her from evil.

 

“And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”  (3:22a)

 

I’d say this is the first reference to the modern day term–“ignorance is bliss.”  God tried.  Eve didn’t listen.  And so goes the battle to this very day.

 

 

I need reminders every now and then why I don’t get my way when I ask God for what I WANT.  A mushroom gave me that reminder.   Sometimes, being in the dark is a blessing.   Sometimes, what we don’t know is the very nutrient that causes us to grow.  Can you see this?

If you’re in that dark time of not understanding something, don’t lose Hope. Don’t be discouraged.  Start thinking like a mushroom: Instead of cursing the darkness, praise the shelter–for that shelter keeps us from the harsh elements that will cause us to wither.  The darkness that sometimes feels like a covering can actually be the shadow of God’s mighty hands hovering over us.    He does not want us to die to the Evil One, He wants us to live!

 

HOPE IN MOTION

  1. Read Psalm 32:7.   A simple verse but quite possibly a reference to David being a mushroom!
  2. During your prayer time this week, instead of asking for specifics, ask for God’s will to be done, not your own.  Then thank him for always protecting you.  It is surprising how we accept some of life’s difficulties and denials when we approach them believing God is actually protecting us from harm.
  3. What do you think of this posting?  It goes against some traditional thinking.  Agree or disagree?  Would love to hear either way.

 

12 Replies

  1. Lori Perz

    Hey Renae, Just now being able to response but only you can take some mushrooms and put a wonderful story behind it. I am like Cissy I love the light. It is hard for me to invision the Lord keeping us in the dark for anything. I do understand what you were saying but I feel that it isn’t “Darkness that we are kept in it is the Light that is with our Lord and as long as we have that Light in our lives the ” darkness” that does enter won’t be so dark. I invision it looking more like a beautiful steak of sunlight just trying to peek in over the clouds. I hope I make sense with what I am saying. Sometimes my words don’t come out the way I want them to.

    1. Hey Lori. I do believe God keeps us in His light–that’s for certain. But I was playing on the words of “in the dark”, meaning, we don’t always know what is going on “behind the scenes” and therefore, like a mushroom, we just need to rest in the assurance that the times the sun isn’t glaring, we are in fact being protected and are growing. The “darkness” you speak of is not from God. As His children, He protects us from that darkness as long as we remain in Him. And I believe God doesn’t always reveal His workings, just like the verses about Eve, in order to protect us. But thanks for chatting about it and giving me your view of the post. Love the feedback.

  2. Cissy

    Hi Renae,
    I agree with Carlotta, my words could fill this page but I will try to be brief. I love your outside the norm thinking on this…who knew a mushroom could teach us something? Who thinks of that? I’m glad you did…God’s protective shelter…a great dark place…wow.
    In the cold dark and sometimes lonely places growth can and does happen. I for one prefer the warmth and light, but if His will for me is to be “in the dark” for whatever reason or for a time, I must trust and believe He will always bring me out and back into the light, and try to embrace the notion, not until I am at the peak of freshness! Love it!

    1. “Not until I’m at the peak of freshness”…..awesome Cissy! I love that! You’re right, we are brought to the peak of freshness when we are able to come out of the shelter for a little while. Thank you for adding that, it gave ME something to think about now. Yes, I agree, we are kept in shelter for our own good and we need to remind ourselves of that sometimes. Who knew a mushroom could help? Thanks for stopping by.

  3. Chrisie

    Renae,
    Thank you! What a great story and affirmation of what we have been taught. I can really relate to this story.

    1. Thanks Chrisie! Yes, we can ALL relate to these kinds of stories and explanations. I love “real world” explanations and not “stained glass” speak, that we can’t understand. Thanks for stopping by and for the chat, too.

  4. I absolutely agree with you Renae. We can not always see the big picture of the path that God has for us. Sometimes he has us in “the dark” so that we have rest, protection and time to be still. I’ve always seen it as like crossing the crosswalk with a child. They may want to dart across because they think it’s clear and are focused on what they are trying to get at but sometimes they can’t see the danger that is around the corner. As guardians, we might hold them back for a moment until the road is clear or possibly take another route all together. God does this with us to protect us. We may get frustrated and throw a fit because we think it’s clear for us to go, but if we wait with Him, we would see the dange or pain he was keeping us from. And then we would be thankful for the protection.
    God’s vision for our lives is so much clearer than what we can see or comprehend. We have to trust Him, and know that He has our best interest in mind. What we think is “good” isn’t necessarily good for us always. And what we think is “bad” may be just what God intended. I don’t mean he intends bad things for us, I mean that our earthly view or opinion can be skewed and we may not realize the value of certain things.
    I’m definately going to think more like a mushroom this week! Thanks for the encouraging words of hope.

    1. Wendy—First, thanks for agreeing. Makes me realize I wasn’t too far off base (although with this brain that’s not too hard to do). I love your analogy of the crosswalk, child, and parent. Why can we see that with our own kids, but forget our Father does the same with us? As we pull our children back from harm, so does our Abba. Great story! And you are so right that the “good” and “bad” of what we think, may just be the opposite of what our Protector thinks. Thanks Wendy for your thoughts and comments. We just LOVE feedback and comments and encourage all to chat with us. Have a wonderful day and happy “sprouting.”

  5. Carlotta

    Hi Renae, I am going to keep this short, but my mind is reeling with all the things I could say. I have enjoyed all of the postings so far, but this one is my very favorite. I love letting God be in charge and trying to be the best facilitator of His plan. Absolutely loved this posting…reconfirmed all that I believe.

    1. Carlotta!! Great to hear from you! You had me scared at the beginning of your words that something was coming, but then you hit us with wonderful praises. Thank you, that was kind of you to say. God IS in charge, whether we acknowledge it or not. “Every knee will bow” someday and sometimes it takes a mushroom to remind us of the importance of it all. I so appreciate you stopping by, giving us a read and sharing your thoughts. Have a wonderful and blessed day!

  6. Lori West

    I agree! Sometimes when we get slience, that is God answering our prayers. He knows what is best for our lives even though we think we know best. Our purpose in life is to Glorify God and enjoy Him forever….not to get what we want out of life. Great post.

    1. You are so right Lori. When we shift to the “thinking” that we are here to serve our Master, than to be served, then we realize life is not about us, it is about Him. And therefore, we can rest in His wisdom. Thank you for pointing that out. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day, fellow mushroom.

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