Spring is the season of new birth. Young life emerges from its winter slumber. Nature knows just what to do when a new season enters in. It knows to shed it’s dead exterior in Autumn and take a rest during wintertime before emerging with a new chance to bloom so it can show off God’s beauty. Spring and summer allow for nature to express itself in all of God’s glory, living fully alive.
Our lives follow the same pattern. The only difference is we get to choose if we want to live the way God intended us to live. Nature simply obeys. We get to choose if we want to obey. This choice was a costly way of showing love. Man can choose to ignore God’s gift of salvation given by God’s only Son.
Ignoring Christ grieves God.
God accepts with a grieving heart those who openly reject His Son. He lets you be. For those who say they believe in Him, yet won’t listen, God gets angry. God never intended His children to live religiously where God is a part of your life.
God is to be your life.
Look at Jeremiah 14:10, “So this is what the LORD says to His people: ‘You love to wander far from Me, and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as My people. Now I will remember all your wickedness, and will punish you for your sins.'”
Everything about you should revolve around God. Learn a lesson from nature in the four seasons. You never see a tree hold onto its leaves. It knows to shed what once was to make room for new growth. Before growth has to happen, the tree spends a season being dormant. Now the tree isn’t sitting by idly, twiddling its branches with nothing to do. Nope. God is working deep within its roots preparing it for springtime. Every spring, you see new buds forming, waiting to mature into what God intended.
A tree allows itself to go through the varied seasons so it can reflect its Maker. It lets its Creator do what it wants so it can be an offering to the world. We are to allow God to work within us in the same way. Unfortunately, we balk at God.
Jeremiah 13:15-27 warns of this type of balking. We must listen and pay attention! A day is coming when grace will turn into punishment. Yes, God is love, but He is also just. We can be so arrogant in who we are. God says, “Hey wait a minute! Come back and allow me to lead your through your seasons. I know what is best for you. Don’t elevate yourself above Me. Trouble will brew for you if you do.” Before it’s too late, give glory to God and acknowledge Him.
We are to “open our eyes and see.”20 I encourage you to read this whole passage. May your heart be stirred to action when you realize that while God is indeed loving, gracious and kind, He is also the God who will correct when His creation goes awry.
In a few weeks, we will be celebrating Easter. The time when God went above the call of duty to show how much He loves us, His wayward children. He did not have to. He chose to. Think about that. In the coming days, prepare your hearts and minds, become like a tree. Easter will never be more beautiful.
What do you need to shed? This world is like a magnet, luring us to this or that so we don’t listen to God.
Does your life feel like the dead of winter? Nothing is going to change. I am who I am. This is as good as its going to get. It’s time to allow God to lead and show you how He will bring new life into dead bones, or dead roots for a tree.
God is in the business of restoration and transformation. When we allow God to change us from the inside out, we become His image bearers. Just like when nature comes alive in the spring and blooms perfectly during the summer, everyone is able to enjoy God’s bounty.
Notice how nature is in harmony. There is unity and beauty where God is allowed to lead. This is true for us. Healthy self-images and intact, deep relationships in marriages, families, and friendships will occur when God is allowed to do what He needs to do.
Let’s all prepare our hearts and allow God to sprout buds of new life. Rise up and allow God to have His way with you.
Carol J German 