Bible Ballistics: Vol. 11 No.05 Blooms Are Worth The Wait!!!
I love flowers. I love the beauty, the aroma (most of the time!), and the joy of watching those spikes and leaves pop up through the earth and produce the wonder of blooms. The daffodils, and crocus that peep through the cold ground to remind us that spring is on the way, are a delight to my soul. And then the forsythia and iris that make that amazing and wondrous show across the landscapes of our communities. I just love it!
Today, I thought we would take some time and consider the reality of blooming. Blooms are the yield of waiting—we plant many of the early-blooming bulbs in the fall, down in the earth—unseen, unnoticed—unaware of the growth that is going on ‘out of sight’. Yet while we can’t observe it with our eyes, those bulbs are putting down roots, nourishing that bulb to be able to bloom. We all love the show of the blooms, but seldom do we consider the cost of the wait—and if there isn’t the proper winter nourishment and time to develop, there won’t be much in the way of the beauty of blooms. The blooms are growing and preparing in that dark earth, the cold earth of winter—under the ground, under the snow, under the ice—doing what is necessary to be what God created them to be: flowers blooming where they were planted. Placed there for a purpose, placed there whether by design or just the propagation of nature—the blooms are still beautiful and the wait is still necessary. The same is true of our spiritual lives!
We can’t expect to be great, beautiful, awe-inspiring blooms if we’re not willing to endure the difficulty of the winter growing seasons! Yet oh my friends, it’s worth the wait! And while the blooms are often short-lived, we enjoy their beauty for that time, and God has a purpose and a plan for our ‘winter’ too, and our blooms can yield eternal results!
“The wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice,
and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice even with joy and singing:
the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
they shall see the glory of the LORD,
and the excellency of our God.” Isaiah 35:1-2
While the literal desert will bloom (And it is already blooming in God’s land of Israel—promises are being fulfilled!), we need to let God prepare the desert areas of our heart to begin to bloom. We must give Him our all, our dark places (and we all have them hidden from view—but not from God) so He can do His work in us, and no matter how long the winter, God can bring the blooms as we yield to His spiritual gardening skills.
“I am the true vine,
and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit
he taketh away:
and every branch
that beareth fruit,
he purgeth it,
that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word
which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me,
and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye,
except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine,
ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me,
and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:1-5
Jesus reminds us that only as we “Abide in me, and I in you”, can we grow as we ought, and see God bring forth the blooms. We so often try to “force” the blooms to come before the time, instead of learning to “abide in” Jesus! You can’t rush spiritual growth, although we are to pursue it and learn to yield to Jesus, and allow His Holy Spirit to take us to the heights of glory as we seek His face in His Word, in prayer and by spending time in His presence! It is only in dying to self, and living to, for, with, and through HIS Spirit that the blooms will abound—in HIS time!
“I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live;
yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith
of the Son of God,
who loved me,
and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Jesus is the root, the provision and nutrition for our life! Will we allow His Spirit to accomplish HIS purpose and will in our hearts and lives, or will we keep on trying to “force” our blooms in our own way, with our own strength or “Miracle Grow”—which isn’t a miracle at all, but self-will. But when we don’t practice the “crucified with Christ” life, we miss the joy of genuine blooms; when we don’t practice the “abiding” life, we miss the joy of His presence and work in us; we miss the beauty of blooms that have been grown out of sight of the world, and then amazingly in HIS time, they come forth to bring truth, beauty and life to the dark and dreary winter of the world around us—JESUS in us!
Jesus told a parable dealing with the contrast between “self” blooming or the true work of God, of being His or being master of our own soul!
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying,
What shall I do,
because I have no room
where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said,
This will I do:
I will pull down my barns,
and build greater;
and there will I bestow
all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years;
take thine ease,
eat,
drink,
and be merry.
20 But God said unto him,
Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required
of thee:
then whose shall those things be,
which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself,
and is not rich toward God.
22 And he said unto his disciples,
Therefore I say unto you,
Take no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat;
neither for the body,
what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat,
and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens:
for they neither sow nor reap;
which neither have storehouse nor barn;
and God feedeth them:
how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought
can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able
to do that thing which is least,
why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow:
they toil not,
they spin not;
and yet I say unto you,
that Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass,
which is to day in the field,
and to morrow is cast into the oven;
how much more will he clothe you,
O ye of little faith?” Luke 12:16-28
While Jesus isn’t saying not to be productive, He is telling us to trust our all to God, and not “fret” about tomorrow (or even later today!), but trust God to provide in those dark winter days, as well as the sunshine of the blooms! He’ll do HIS work in HIS time for HIS glory and our good! Oh, to be found faithful when He comes, or when He calls me to Himself! How about you
Jesus also had a message for those who claim to be “His” within the church, those who thought they had “it all” themselves, much like the rich man above! In my own vernacular—“saying so, doesn’t make it so”! Knowing the Master and Lord who is “the way….the truth….and the life…” is the only way to have a ‘genuine’ life that blooms for God!
“I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold
nor hot:
I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold
nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich,
and increased with goods,
and have need of nothing;
and knowest not
that thou art wretched,
and miserable,
and poor,
and blind,
and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve,
that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love,
I rebuke
and chasten:
be zealous therefore,
and repent.
20 Behold,
I stand at the door,
and knock:
if any man hear my voice,
and open the door,
I will come in to him,
and will sup with him,
and he with me.” Revelation 3:15-18
Without going into all of the contextual interpretations of the “who” or “what” specifically in these verses, my purpose today is to simply see what Jesus said to some who claimed to be His own, and if I might amplify that part it for us today as we bring these thoughts to a close, I’d like to leave you some food for thought to ponder throughout your day and week. Who is your Lord? Where is your treasure? Are you in a dark time of winter, waiting for the blooms? If so Jesus is sufficient to the task, and God has a plan at work—don’t rush His timing (And oh, I know how hard that is to practice—that “waiting” is just about the hardest thing that God asks us to do, but with His grace we can “wait”, and the “Blooms are worth the wait!”) Are you running your own life, trying to save and provide for your own soul? Is God about to say to you what He said to the rich man we looked at? As Paul said to the Philippians “think on these things….” (See Philippians 4:8-9)
Jesus said, “I KNOW”–
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
Jesus said, “You say….but don’t know!”!
“….without me you can do nothing…”
You think you are self-sufficient, but you’re not!
Jesus said, “YOU are blind”!
What you say doesn’t match what I see or say!
YOU “knowest not” your real state!
Jesus said, “buy from me” what only faith buys!
What you have isn’t equal to save anyone.
“For by grace are you saved”
Not by works, wealth, power, prominence,
Self-righteousness, there’s IS only ONE way!
Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock”!
(He was on the outside of His church!)
Self-righteousness will never save anyone!
You measure by what you see, not what is!
Jesus said, “open the door”!
If you are on the throne, Jesus can’t be!
Is He on the outside?
Or have you invited Him in?
Jesus said, “I will come in”!
Jesus will come in to those who bow before Him!
“Behold,
I stand at the door,
and knock:
if any man hear my voice,
and open the door,
I will come in to him,
and will sup with him,
and he with me.”
Jesus wants to help you bloom where you’re planted, but first we must bow before The “Master” gardener, and trust it all to HIM, that we might “be conformed to the image of his Son”, reflecting HIS glory as we bloom—right there where HE has planted YOU! The blooms are worth the wait!
Bible Ballistics 