Is God Speaking to You?

As we all know, hardships, trials, and struggles are part of life regardless of the generation in which one is born.

Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world.”

Jesus understands our suffering and promises to be with us in our times of crisis. God can use our trials to refine and purify us if we allow Him to. For we know that in all things, He is working for the good of those who love Him.” Romans 8:28.

We may know all this in our minds and believe it in our hearts, but still, when hardships come our way, they sometimes can be so overwhelming that it causes us to lose focus and render us unable to think or act like ourselves. That is exactly what happened to a friend of mine.

My friend is typically a fun-loving, positive, energetic, outgoing social person who lights up a room with her smile, has never met a stranger, and is full of compassion and empathy for others.

After suffering many devastating tribulations in a short amount of time, my friend could not see past her pain and fell into despair, depression, and hopelessness.

She had lost her identity and lost sight of God.

I prayed God would reveal Himself to her and fill her with His presence. God answered that prayer by giving her a beautiful visual of His love for her.

One day while walking in the country, my friend discovered a little tree smothered with prickly vines full of thorns. She felt God was compelling her to venture toward the tree.

She approached the little tree and empathetically began removing the brambles that bound it. While working, the thorns and vines were scratching and poking her skin, causing her to bleed. Nothing would interfere with her task; she continued working diligently and began consoling and comforting the tree.

The next day she told me about her encounter with the little tree and wanted to know what I thought it meant.

At that moment, God revealed to me His message for her – she was the tree. He was letting her know all the things that were weighing her down (her grief, isolation, health issues, loss, fear, anxiety, etc.) were like the vines on the tree that were binding and suffocating her.

I asked her what she thought God was saying to her, and she said, “I guess God wants me to free myself if I’m the tree.”

Next, His message declared that if the tree could have freed itself, it would have, but it couldn’t; it was bound and needed help, just like her.

God then revealed that when she was bleeding from the scratches she endured from removing the vines that kept the tree in bondage, it was like what Jesus did for her.

He shed His blood and endured the cross for her to set her free from bondage.

Lastly, when she was talking to the tree, that was like Jesus talking to her. He was telling her that He loved her and for her to draw near to Him.

He wanted her to know there was no need to fear, for He was with her; do not be dismayed, for He was her God. That He would strengthen and help her; that He would uphold her with his righteous right hand; Isaiah 41:10.

At the end of our conversation, my friend realized how God used the symbolism of the tree to let her know that she was not her solution, but He was and is.

God knew my friend was a visual learner and loved nature, so He communicated to her in a way she could receive His message.

God is constantly speaking to us in various ways: through other people, nature, songs, His word, and symbolism – to name just a few.

We must ask ourselves: How and what is God trying to communicate to me? Am I listening for His still, small voice, looking for the signs, or attentive to the nudging of the Holy Spirit?

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