Bursting Forth

Okay, so I really love flowers. I love the way they are hiding below the surface during a long, cold winter. I love how at the first sign of warmth, they start creeping out...trying to catch a peek to see if it's safe yet. Then the frost hits again and they just curl up, hoping to savor some warmth they caught the day before. Before you know it you see all these green things growing seemingly from every direction. Trees are budding, grass is greening, flowers are sprouting. You wake up one morning only to find spurts of color. And knowing it won't be the last...there's more to come. There will soon be colors everywhere--vibrant, warm, radiant colors. It will bring a smile to your face to pull in your driveway each day just to see it!

I feel like that's how we are with God. Before we become a Christian, we are kind of "hiding out". Looking around to see what everyone else is doing and wondering if it's safe for us to do it too. Then, we accept Christ, but we are still observing everyone else. Trying to decide how we should act or what we should feel. Then we are surrounded by others who believe the same as we do. They become our friends and family in the faith. We feel strong when we are with them, but sometimes still look to them for approval. Eventually, we burst forth--in our own way. We don't wait on the rest of them to "catch up". We aren't trying to please them anymore--we are trying to please the ONE that matters. We know there is more in store.....He IS coming back.

"In Christ Alone"Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart TownendCopyright © 2001

In Christ alone my hope is found;He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

This song is what I think of when I'm working in this flower bed. I do not have a green thumb and most of my life have killed every plant I've owned. I am happy to say that my flower bed is thriving right now--but not really because of me. I have the plants that won't easily die...the plant and neglect, God will do the rest. :) That's my kind of flower bed!

May God be working on your heart--that you will be "bursting forth in glorious day" today!