With Spring Comes New Life
You should feel optimistic by your spring clean up, by the raking in your yard and garden, by the shoots of new life that peek through the ground every year. Even if some of the roses and shrubs took a hit from the cold weather, the perennials show up...without fail. There are so many life lessons in gardening. Whenever you need a bit of encouragement, think of those perennials.
There are some things in life we can count on. Yes, there's joy in seeing the plants push through every year, but a greater joy yet is the new life we can declare through Jesus. Isaiah 42 speaks of Christ so prophetically and eloquently. We should rejoice that He pushed through the darkness, did not falter, made a new covenant, and sprung up in glory! (vs. 9 NKJV "Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare").
Think about how cold and desolate the winter can be. Our lives hit the peaks and valleys too. It always seems that while you’re in the midst of the storm, while you’re trying to pick your feet up and trudge through the ice and storm it’s hard to think about warmer days to come. God never promised us there wouldn’t be any storms, just that he would be with us through them. And in the end, He takes our mess and makes it a message.
Some people feel that they have done something that separates them from the love of God. They think there is no way God would want to take their sinful life and shine the light on it. Even the tulip bulbs, sitting in the dark, underground, doing who knows what during the winter, spiral up in the Spring to be beautiful flowers. Isaiah 65:17 tells us “Pay close attention now: I'm creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. (MSG). God is not going to remember what you were doing while you were in the dark underground all winter. He’s more concerned about the gorgeous blossom He has now. He’s forgotten the past. He’s focusing on the new. You should too.
As you enjoy the new fresh scenery that Spring brings us, let each new bud remind you of the new life God is creating in you. Let the tulips, daffodils, hydrangeas and hyacinths remind you of the rebirth in you. God has forgotten the underground, enjoy the roses!