Sometimes it takes a barren season for us to see and hear clearly. The Lord showed me a beautiful, bright pink flower on a seemingly lifeless tree last Friday as a reminder that He is a resurrecting God who brings dead things to life. When I walked by it again yesterday, Markel mentioned something about the tree’s barrenness, wondering how it already lost its fall leaves.
It led me to pondering the life of a tree. During the spring and summer it appears so alive, producing so much fruit, but the barren season isn’t about death, but about rest so that life might return once again in the spring.
Sometimes the Lord leads us to barren seasons so we might return to rest in relationship with Him. He’s so patient with us!
Isaiah writes about this in Isaiah 30:
“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
Though he gave you adversity for food & suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you...”
I find it fascinating that verse 18 begins with the Lord patiently waiting on US but ends with the promise of help when we wait on HIM! That’s what a barren season is all about...patient waiting & helpful rest🤗
A tree might seem dead to the onlooker, but it’s in the seemingly barren seasons that the roots continue to grow down deep & the limbs are given rest from nourishing the leaves.
The Lord promises through Isaiah that when we turn to Him for rest, we will see Him with our own eyes & hear Him with our own ears saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”
One of Jesus’s names IS The Way. This passage is a prophetic foretelling of The Teacher yet to come!
Sometimes He gives us adversity for food & suffering for drink SO THAT we might remember to turn to Him alone for rest & rejuvenation. It is there, in the still quiet barrenness, that sometimes we hear His voice best. Let’s run to the Father with our empty buckets so He may fill them to overflowing with His fresh, living water!
September 19th One Year Bible Readings
💡ISAIAH 30:12-33:9
💡GALATIANS 5:1-12
💡PSALM 63:1-11
💡PROVERBS 23:22