This past spring, following the horrible wildfire that destroyed 1,000 homes in our Colorado community, I started to notice flowers blooming amidst the devastation. Everything above ground was burned totally away, but underground bulbs survived to flower and grace the landscape. It was both eerie and hopeful to see daffodils blooming among burned out basements.
Isaiah wrote of flowering amidst the cinders:
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
I read this and think, not yet. Not with nations around our world at war, not with anger dominating our civil discourse, not with sex trafficking, not with addictions, not with all the maladies we hear of daily.
Then I remember what Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, how it works like yeast, slowly yet incessantly changing the nature of the dough.
The birth of Jesus brought hope to a blackened landscape. The presence of the Holy Spirit hovers even now over this world. The Scriptures form the soil of righteousness and praise. It’s all here, ready for someday.
Quietly, someday leaks into this day. By committing to follow the ways of Jesus we make room for sprouts of praise and shoots of righteousness. Perhaps all this it not so far off?
Not yet do we see the full glory of the Sovereign Lord’s righteousness and glory, but if we pay attention, we see sprouts even in this darkened world.
Isaiah 61 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022
Photo by Daniel Hajdacki
So much consistently lovely writing here. Almost every day! Wondering if you are going to make these into a book? Definitely a possibility!
Thank you Robin for the encouragement! I’m thinking about a book using these posts, someday…