I was sitting on a bench in our backyard this morning when I noticed our hibiscus plant had withered and two bulbs that had started to grow were now dead. It was kind of sad and it got me thinking about my life.
There have been times in my life when I was a withered Christian. I had no fragrance*, no “bulbs”, no color. For the life of me, I couldn’t find God; heaven was as brass*. I would fervently pray but no peace could I find. Nothing I do changes anything in my life. I am reminded of Psalms 63:1: (CEV)Â O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Nevertheless, I called out to Jesus. I asked my Lord to show me my faults so I could repent, to teach me how to obey His commands, and to transform me as Scripture says in Romans 12:2 (NIV)Â Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Jesus did! It wasn’t in a day or a week or even a month, but He brought me out of my winter and into spring. Just like my hibiscus plant, I came alive, again, and what He did for me He will do for you for Jesus said:
John 10:10 (BSB) 9 I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.…
*2 Corinthians 2:16 (BSB) For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
*Deuteronomy 28:23 (KJV) And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.