I was really looking forward to Spring this year! The signs are clear—around the Valley, crocus have bloomed and gone already. Daffodils have been up for a couple of weeks. Our rosebushes are budding out like a prison break. But yesterday was special—it was the first day our Japanese magnolia tree began unfurling her large pink blossoms.
Spring is a welcome sight to most. Following a gray, cold and long winter, who doesn’t like to see the return of life in our gardens? At this time of year, mowing the lawn is still something to which we actually look forward!
But I believe there is more to Spring. Spring is something we need. We need a refreshed and refreshing view of life. The leafy green sprouts pushing up through inky earth refresh our spirits. More than the oxygen they produce, this season renews the freshness of life for us.
Perhaps especially in this down economy, ever more so. I was assisting a few folks to request financial assistance for their heat bill at El Ada’s offices in Boise. Prominently displayed was a stand of every kind of vegetable seed packet you could name. For lower income families, El Ada is striving to encourage self-sufficiency and pride in growing your own healthy vegetables. There is also something intrinsically encouraging about a vibrant garden, yielding nutritious produce.
No surprise that heavenly wisdom uses the garden to picture those who place their trust in the One who created it all. Proverbs 11:28:
“Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive
like a green leaf.”
The past few years have certainly proved the first part wise. Cash isn’t sinful or evil. Yet over the past 25 months, we have seen the foolishness of trusting in financial security, IRAs, or a job thought to be safe.
By contrast, those who are righteous—“right with God” through faith in the Savior—they are pictured as a thriving green leaf. Examples in the outdoors are everywhere! Whatever the location, it is amazing how plants can grow. Out of a rocky cliff, pine trees strain toward the sun. In Yellowstone, groundcover reaches as close to the geysers as the soil will allow. On mountain tops, the tree line inches as high up the slopes as nature permits. You have heard the expression, “bloom where you are planted.” This takes on a deeper meaning for our family of faith. No matter where the Lord places you in life, you have a tremendous opportunity to bloom, giving clear evidence of your trust in the God who created and saved you from sin. Even the sin problem and solution is described in botanical terms: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree," Christ was crucified accepting the curse of your and my sin. Jesus, the Lord of Life, sacrificed his life to give you life, and that life is to the full, and overflowing to eternal life. This refreshed view of life helps us in whatever situation we find ourselves today.
In whatever circumstance you are in right now, you have been given that circumstance as a gift from God, in order to blossom, giving God glory for strengthening you and guiding you through it. God works in you with his powerful strength to move his children from surviving through striving to thriving. “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.” Praise God because it’s true.
Prayer idea: Ask God for a clearer understanding and picture of your situation so that you can see your opportunity to thrive in it. Ask God for strength. Pray for someone you know is struggling with difficulty or sadness at this time.