In Light Of Lemons: A Guest Piece by Claire Mariah
This writing was produced by Claire Mariah (clairemariah.com | @clairemariahmurray) in conjunction with the final painting of The Citrus Joy Series, titled, “In Light of Lemons”. I know you’ll enjoy her wise, gracious, and hope-filled words.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” - Ephesians 3:20-21
We’ve all heard the saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” But, what about the times when the lemons we’ve been given aren’t the lemons we hoped for?
The heart behind this saying is full of intention with the encouragement to take the circumstance we’ve been given and turn it into something beautiful. When life is full of abundance, it’s easy to make lemonade out of lemons. But, in those seasons of life, when the lemons we receive aren’t what we hoped for, we lose the strength to turn those lemons into lemonade.
When we give God our lemons, he will make more than lemonade.
In the midst of our circumstances, for the lemons we’ve been given, we have this promise — our God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. In light of the lemons we’ve been given, God invites us to surrender every lemon to him, to the one who is able to make more than lemonade.
If the we rely on our own strength, all that we will ever make is lemonade, but in his strength, as we surrender every lemon to him, he will take those lemons and make more than lemonade, because he is the author who writes abundance into our longing and his everlasting joy into our sorrow.
When these seasons of life come, filled with the heaviness of lemons that we hadn't hoped for, whether disappointment, unmet expectations, heartbreak or despair, we are invited to the beauty of surrender. As we lay our burdens at his feet, we are choosing to trust that he is who he says he is, the one who is able to make more than lemonade. When we don’t know the why, we can trust in the who, and we serve a “more than lemonade” kind of God.
As we press into this invitation, to surrender our lemons to God, we do not know if the circumstance will change, but we can trust that he will take our disappointed, broken, longing hearts and turn our eyes from our circumstance to the hope we have in him. It’s in beholding who he is, what he’s done and what he’s promised, that in spite of the lemons we receive, he lifts our eyes from the lemons we can see.
When we look to Christ the filter of his goodness becomes the lens through which we see.
In the life of our perfect Savior, we see that even the lemons he was given weren’t the lemons he hoped for. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the circumstance he was given meant that he would be separated from the Father while the wrath of God poured out on his body, sweating tears of blood as he hung with nail-pierced hands from that tree.
But when he prayed in the garden, before taking on the cross, not only did he ask, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;” but because he trusted God when the circumstance didn’t change, he then declared, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
In spite of the lemons in his story, even when his circumstances didn’t change, he trusted God and believed that the lemons were worth the story God was writing for our good and his glory. When Jesus came to fulfill his calling, he believed it was for the “joy set before him,” (Hebrews 12:2) because he trusted in the plans of God more than the lemons he could see.
When the lemons we receive aren’t good, we can trust that our God is good, and in his goodness he will cause all things to work together for good. God is making “more than lemonade” with every lemon we receive.
In light of the lemons of our stories, let us look to his goodness and set our hope in him. This promise of who God is in light of our lemons is not just a promise to behold in our circumstance, but a promise that impacts every moment of every day. When we trust the heart of God, we take hold of the beautiful invitation to a “more than lemonade” kind of life.
So, let us press into his heart and lay down our lemons at his feet, believing that the story he is writing in our lives is for our good and his glory, holding fast to his goodness when the circumstance is not. Even if the lemons of our lives are the only thing we can see, we have this hope, that one day we will stand in his presence as “he will wipe away every tear from our eye, where there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, for the former things will pass away” (Revelations 21:4).
When we enter the promise of eternity, we will only behold the promise of joy as he fulfills the promise of more than lemonade for eternity.
This is your invitation to a life filled with the abundance of joy as you trust his heart. When all we can see are the lemons of our lives, let us trust God has been writing a “more than lemonade” story all along. And someday, we have this hope, that we will look back and begin to understand the why, because we trusted in the heart of the who.
Because of his great love for you, the heart of God is to give you a “more than lemonade” kind of life. Will you surrender the lemons in your life to him and take hold?
Read more of Claire’s beautiful writing at clairemariah.com, or follow along on social media at @clairemariahmurray.
