This morning as I write to you, sitting in my office surrounded by windows, I see the beginning of a revival! A revival of the tiny flowers planted one by one last year that I could’ve sworn had died. Grape-gum purples, blush pinks, and milky white petals are resurfacing all over what only days ago was mashed down dirt! It’s spring, and this means longer days to enjoy the sun, the resurfacing of new life and the renewal of hope which may have become dormant over the long winter days.
Not many seasons ago, I can remember getting up and quickly lying back down again in my welcoming bed because I felt hope was out of reach. I felt that God’s love for me was too. I was struggling to commit to life, to standing up for any amount of time as days faded into the night. I was far from the Father it seemed, yet He hadn’t moved.
The Vine
Why do I so easily believe the lies set as traps for God’s people? Perhaps this question is a bit rhetorical because I know the answer for me. I am not new to agreeing with the enemy. I can, in the blink of an eye, get too far from my source of strength. Jesus tells us in John 15:1-8 that He is the Vine—our source—and that as long as we stay connected to Him (spending time reading and thinking about His Word, talking and listening with Him…), we will bear much fruit. Bottom line? When we believe lies and go at this life alone, we lose our connection to the nourishment we need for growth!
I can be a pretty independent gal so when I begin to strike out and become self-sufficient without the Father it’s dangerous for me and my life becomes hopeless and meaningless. When I am far from the Father and believing the lies of the enemy, my mind can become quickly depleted and Love seems far away. There is little goodness coming from my life, little sharing of God’s hope, and telling of his sacrificial adoration for us. Because of this, I have nothing to give that is not from me.
The Branches
Not too far from the beautiful flowers beginning to bloom all over this clay-like earth, tree branches are overflowing with snow white buds. These strong branches are firmly connected to the trunks of our elm trees and are flourishing and full. They have held fast during the cold winter. Walking up to these trees, though, the path is covered with numerous weak branches which have fallen from our strong wind and southern cold. Like an unrelenting winter, lies from the enemy aren’t going to stop, my friend. And when they paralyze us, stealing our hope and life, we are just as the limbs that cannot stay fixed on the trunk of magnificent trees.
When I let Jesus in, I agree with Him about who I am and why He has created me and what He has for me to do here in my life. I lose when I allow anyone else to decide this for me. We are here to bear much fruit. We are here to show others Him. When we are not hooked to the source who made us to thrive in fellowship with Him, we are like the branches dead and covering the ground beneath the tree.
I need new beginnings. I’m so grateful that God is a God of newness and forgiveness and revival. I need Him desperately in every season, just as branches need the vine. Let’s allow the Vine to keep us close on this spring day so that we are nourished for the growth and beauty He desires for us.
Meet the Author!
Lover of diet coke and long strolls at the mall, Stacee Goetzinger is an author, speaker, wife, mother, daughter and friend. Psalm 118:17, "I will not die but live, and proclaim what the Lord has done," is her life verse and describes her passion to allow God to use the pain of a lengthy battle with mental illness and an eating disorder to write and speak words of hope, courage and life.
Connect with Stacee at Speakoutloud.me.