Refreshment
By Peggy
Kleckner
“See I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
Autumn can bring rainy, dark days.
Typically, these are not my favorite. They seem cloaked in gloom and somewhat
tighter-fitting or confining. They remind me that winter is closer, the days
are shortening and the temperature will be dropping. I prefer the sunshine days
of autumn, where God displays His glory in bold colors and the sky seems broad
and roomy.
However, once in the midst of a dark
and gloomy, rainy day, my heart spoke whispers of new growth. I thought of all
of the roots of the trees and plants rejoicing in praise as they were drinking
in the rain. Perhaps they danced in celebration!
A few years ago, it had been a year
of drought. We knew our ground needed the life-sustaining and refreshing rain.
We could more easily see and accept His gift of showers, because we had
experienced the need. We had seen the effect of the lack. When the
showers came, it brought us visions of new growth for next spring and we could
look ahead with fresh hope.
That drought two years ago was a
great reminder to me. I had been in some dark and gloomy spiritual days. I felt
as if I was confined, hemmed in. Some days it felt complete with thunder and
lightening. But other days, He reminded me that He is up to something good. He
spoke to me and says, “Do you not perceive it?...Don’t you know me by now?”
These days are not to frighten me.
They are for my refreshment. They have been given as a gift from my Father’s
heart. He is watering His seed in me, looking forward to fresh blooms and good
fruit.
All of the seasons are necessary,
and are set in order by our sovereign God. He calls out the seasons of our
life, both the darkness and the light.
So, I will rejoice in my dark days
and dance in my gloom, for God is springing up good things in me!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What darkness is trying to
hold your attention captive?
2. Are you willing to ask God
to help you look past this season to see the vision of new growth He has
planned?
FURTHER READING:
Peggy is a wife and
mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active
encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
