Spring is
the time of year when God reminds us that things are not always as they seem.
Over the course of a few short weeks, what appears hopelessly dead comes to
life. Bleak woodlands are transformed into colorful landscapes. Trees whose
naked arms reached to heaven all winter, as if pleading to be clothed, suddenly
are adorned with lacy green gowns. Flowers that faded and fell to the ground in
surrender to the cold rise slowly from the earth in defiance of death.
In
Scripture, we read about some apparently hopeless situations. One example is
that of a wealthy man named Job whom God described as having integrity (Job
2:3). Disaster struck and Job lost everything important to him. In misery, he
said, “My days are . . . spent without hope” (7:6). What appeared to Job and
his friends as evidence that God had turned against him was just the opposite.
God was so confident of Job’s integrity that He trusted him in this battle with
Satan. Later, Job’s hope and life were renewed.
The
faithful arrival of spring every year comforts me when I’m in a situation that
seems hopeless. With God, there is no such thing. No matter how bleak the
landscape of life may look, God can transform it into a glorious garden of
color and fragrance.
With God,
there is hope even in the most hopeless situation. (RBC)
