The Order of the Juniper Tree

By: Patricia Nordman
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:51
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“As he lay and slept under a juniper tree, then an angel touched him” (1 Kings 19:5).

I forget where I found the following jewel by Dr. Abbott, but isn’t it wonderful how he expresses our need to sit under the juniper trees of life? In this world of confusion about the where’s and wherefores of life, we truly need to linger at our rest-places of life. Mine is a vision of quiet by a gentle river. Another Juniper Tree is a good book that refreshes my soul and outlook on life. Anything that helps us lay aside our fears and anxieties is our Juniper Tree. It is there that an angel touches us!

Juniper trees: — In experiences of weariness and discouragement and times of despair, when it seems to us that we are of no use in the world, and are doing nothing in the world, or only blundering and doing harm in the world, there come the juniper tree and the angel; God puts rest-places in our lives; God gives us angels’ food and tells us that in the strength of that food we are to rise up and go on our journey. I want you to look with me for a few moments this morning at some of these rest-places, some of these juniper trees of life.

1. And first I put sleep, because God put it first. When Elijah was tired and despairing and discouraged, God put him to sleep. Sometimes the most religious service a man can render himself or the world is to go to sleep. But how many busy people think really the time spent in sleep is wasted! They begrudge all the time that is spent asleep. But the Lord God so made us that we need to put one-third of our time in sleep. And He knew what He was about. Thanks to God for sleep, that is itself a symbol of death; sleep, that is the promise of a new awakening, and so gives us the suggestion of that great awakening when we shall rise refreshed and invigorated for the eternal day! The father takes the tired child in his arms and rocks him into unconsciousness of all the sin and sorrow and weariness and burden of life. Do not think of it as wasted time! Do not think of it as something lost out of life! Take it as God means we shall — as God’s great gift.

2. Next to sleep I put amusement as one of God’s juniper trees and as a part of God’s angelic food. You remember the three things which the Book of Proverbs says about merriment, which is the lightest form of amusement: first, that a merry heart is a continual feast; second, that a merry heart maketh a glad countenance; and, thirdly, that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. The merry heart cheers the heart and so makes the face radiant, and, because the face is radiant, therefore the merry soul imparts radiance to others. Merriment, amusement, laughter, just having a good time, is one of God’s juniper trees that He plants for us, and when we are discouraged and distressed He means that we shall take advantage of it.

3. The home is one of God’s juniper trees. We are all conscious, I am sure, that woman’s sphere, whatever that flexible globe may be, is getting bigger and bigger; women are going into all sorts of industrial activities, and giving men pretty hard work by competition; into all sorts of charitable activities, which men are quite ready to leave to the women altogether. Now, on the whole, this is a distinct advance — The larger life of woman is something to be welcomed and to be rejoiced in; and yet, like every increasing growth, it has its perils also. It does sometimes threaten to impair the usefulness of the home. In the Divine order men are the soldiers; the battle of life ought to be done by the men.

4. The Church ought to be a juniper tree and a resting-place. Dr. Parkhurst has said, “The Church is not the minister’s field, but the minister’s force.” The Church ought to be not merely a working Church, but a rest-giving Church also; and when men and women come to the Church, they ought to be able to find there some angels’ food, some real rest, some inspiration that will send them back into life with new vigour for their new toils. The Sabbath chimes ring no sweeter song than this, “Come unto Me, and rest!”

5. And then there is the quiet hour. At Wellesley College, in Massachusetts — a young ladies’ college — there are twenty minutes reserved in every day for a quiet hour. During that twenty minutes every young lady is expected to be in her room; there is to be no passing through the halls; there is to be no life of conversation, no laughter. What the young lady does in her room is between herself, her own conscience, and her God. She may read, she may study, she may pray, she may think, she may do what she likes; only she must not disturb other pupils in other rooms. For twenty minutes a quiet time. We ought to have our quiet hour; at least, we will say, our quiet quarter of an hour. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)

There is not an age that has not experienced adversity. We all think we live in the worst of times. We might also say, then, that we live in the best of times as well. In my reading I am constantly reminded that human nature started with Adam and Eve and it will remain the same until Jesus returns. In between we fight our battles and win our victories. With God’s grace, we have no battles with others!

We have all felt like Elijah, alone and depressed. I think this is one of the most remarkable chapters in the Bible, for it gives us a God Who understands our failures and despair. And He is there to pick up our broken pieces and make of our life a new mosaic. We become members of the Order of the Juniper Tree!

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