As we are seeing in this series, rich lessons abound for us in the natural world. So far we have seen how the palm tree teaches us how to handle pressure... and how palmetto husks illustrate for us how to respond to difficult people.
Today we examine how the humble fire poppy can give us hope when life brings pain our way.
The California fire poppy (papaver californicum) is a remarkable little flower. So delicate… and yet strong as a hickory stick on the inside. One might think the name comes from its bright reddish-orange color, reminiscent of flames. But such is not the case.
The fire poppy doesn’t shine until times get hard.
In fact, it doesn’t even appear until times get hard!
Growing in the rocky chaparral land of the American southwest, the plant comes to life after the land has been ravaged by wildfire. Hence the name.
The seed of the fire poppy lie dormant for decades in that hardscrabble environment. The heat and smoke generated by the fire – which destroys most plants – actually stimulates the fire poppy to life! The ash-rich layer the fire leaves behind provides the soil conditions in which fire poppies thrive.
There’s much for us to learn here.
Job tells us that we are “born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). A timely simile given that we are talking about something that doesn’t grow until the fire comes.
And that’s how it is with us, my friends. There are parts of our growth in Christ that will lie dormant for years (not unlike the fire poppy) awaiting the fires God sends our way to germinate them and bring them to life.
Sometimes the hindrances are external.
Sometimes the hindrances are internal.
In both cases, the solution lies in fire.
Externally, the fire burns off the dense vegetation that smothers out the ability of the poppy to germinate. Internally the fire cracks open the tough seed-coating that prevents the flower from springing to life.
Once again we can see how, as believers, we are in the same position as the fire poppy. Those who know their Bible know that we are told of the three enemies we struggle against – the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The world and the devil are external challenges. They are to the believer what the dense vegetation draining the soil of nutrients is to the fire poppy.
The flesh is our great internal challenge. It is akin to the husk that stifles the seed’s potential for life.
God’s solution is fire.
The fire brings pain, no doubt.
But it is a pain that is only for our good and our growth.
This is precisely why Peter (1 Peter 4:12-13) says to us, Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
I don’t know what pain you are facing now. It may be physical... it may be mental and emotional... it may be spiritual... it may be relational.
Take heart and take hope, my friend. Think of the fire poppy.
God knows your pain. And He has a purpose in it.
Remember – the fire is not the end. It’s the beginning.
Til next time,
