New Bloom

"TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven"  Eccl 3:1 (AMP)


Spring is here & winter has passed. With each new season comes new bloom.  For example, the lilies of spring are in bloom & but will soon leave room in the gardens for the blooms of the rose bushes & azaleas.  Each  plant blooming in season & living out its beauty and potential; hopefully with proper care each will live to bloom again the next season. 

The Hebrew definition of "seasons" is "an appointed place or a time or a meeting".  Just as God has decreed His "appointed times" for things to occur in nature I believe He also has "appointed times" for "new blooms" in the seasons of our lives.  So often when passing through a season of hardship and difficulty it may seem that we have nothing left to give or nothing more to live for as our time has come & gone or maybe passed us by altogether. It's like the bulbs one plants before winter falls.  After passing through a harsh winter one might wonder just how well the plants will fair in the spring.  But often to our surprise & excitement, growth & bloom occurs & gives rise to another "season" of success.  Wow! We can learn so much from nature! 

One of the amazing things about us humans is that we can be experiencing multiple seasons at the same time.  Financially it maybe a season of drought, professionally a season of new growth, physically a season of good health & fitness, socially a season of loneliness, & spiritually a season of refreshment.  Well, you get the picture. So I ask, what are the current seasons of your life?  Just like the rose bushes you may not be in bloom yet & as you look around at the lilies now in all their glory and splendor you may be tempted to give in to discouragement, jealousy, & other negative & destructive thoughts & emotions. It's a test of the human character to celebrate the success of others when going through personal difficulties and challenges.  Oh, but I implore us all to be encouraged for the Lord God has a calendar/a timetable for the manifestations of all of His promises to us & His purposes for us!! Never ever forget that He is a God of completion.  "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Heb 10:23 (AMP)  Remember in God's appointed time Sarah give birth just as God promised Abraham.  And in God's appointed time He completed His work in Joseph & made his dreams a reality (approximately 21 years between the pit and the palace).

So what do we do as we transition through the many seasons of our lives?  WE WAIT!  As we wait we:

1. Change our "stinking thinking" by speaking the truth as in accordance to our faith (our hope, our trust) in God's Word & His promises. (Rom 10:17, Ps 119:11, Heb 11:1, 1 Cor 2:9)
2. We declare His wonderful works by singing His praise (bragging on the Lord) & sharing our testimony. (Rev 12:1, 1 Sam 30:6, Ps 91:15) 

Allow the Lord to do EXTRAORDINARY things through you as you WAIT on Him!  As we look for new bloom in the seasons of our lives, waiting is always the hardest part but remember.....

• Strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord (Is 40:31)
• It's in the waiting that we experience first hand that He is God (Ps 46:10)

I leave you with the words of a chorus which is a constant prayer of my heart as I wait upon the Lord & as I transition from season to season and wait for each new bloom:

"I want a peace beyond my understanding, I want to feel it fall like rain in the middle of my hurting.  I want to feel Your arms as they surround me & let me know that its okay to be here in this place resting in the peace that only comes, IN THE WAITING!"