But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
The season of change is upon us. This is my favorite time of year along with Spring. I look on the horizon as I travel; look at the mountain range and see the transformation occur. It's a healthy vibrant green landscape full of life and within weeks it seems like it dies.
Two questions arise; is everything really alive in the midst of the green forest and when the conversion is complete, is everything that looks dead, really gone?
When all is well and life is fruitful we really don't pay much attention to the areas that are slipping away; the parts of our lives that may need attention. As the season changes and the lush of greenery fades away, the obvious sick or dead zones seems to appear. They have been their all along.
The leaves have fallen and now the dead trees, the trees that have fallen and split in two are resting on healthy strong trees.
When the seasons change somehow we too change. In the Fall we seem to gather in all we need for the cold days ahead; we prepare for storms and power outages that may occur; those storms that try to remove the Light from us and leave us in the dark.
How is the ground around you? Has it been fertilized throughout the Summer; have you taken good care of all that was overgrown and carefully trimmed and pruned all branches so they could produce good fruit? He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruit. (John 15:2) If we neglect to be a good ground keeper, that which has been ours to care for, will be like the dead tree leaning and split in two; useful for nothing except to be thrown in the fire.
The gentle breeze that comes in the Fall and adds to the removal of the leaves on the trees, well it reminds me of the Spirit of God that gently brushes through our lives. Seasons changing? Good! Let the Spirit of the Lord come and remove the dead weights that can can be a hindrance to our walk, our life! Interestingly enough, not every tree in the change of season looses their leaves as the same time.
I've read on the process, that incredible transformation that occurs, photosynthesis. The abscission layer, a layer of waxy, corky cells at the base of each leaf. This stops the growing process and stops the flow of sap. The process of how chlorophyll is lost and hence the Fall miracle happens. It's not just a colorful splendor but their is the miracle of preservation.
So, we fast forward into Spring and what do we see. The God of all creation has gently closed every tree bud, every flowering plant to be ready to thrive again. You see, these trees that seem like they are dying are really in a state of preservation. God has prepared the landscape; dead leaves if left on the trees, could freeze and with the storms coming, could cause a tree that otherwise would be healthy to fall in the midst of the storm.
The Lord gently prepares us for change and the storms to come. Get rid of that which is dying, shed those leaves away. The season is about to change. Preservation is coming; a season of defense, a safeguarding for what God has entrusted to us. What has he entrusted us with? We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)
Preservation..... which can be translated as Salvation. Hallelujah! He has kept us and is keeping us.
Is everything that looks dead gone; no, it's just getting ready to bloom again and the command and wake up call of the Lord. We can join creation and declare the glory of God as the skies proclaim the work of his hands. As day after day they pour out speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4
We guard what the Lord has entrusted to us for the sake of preservation and to affect the next generation, the new season, so that the message of salvation, the Good News may be heard everywhere!
The season of change is coming....get ready....get ready. Let it Rain....I feel the wind of your Spirit!
