Holding on to Hope
Are you ready for spring? When you are feeling the cold and witnessing winter-ravaged plants, it’s hard to imagine the warm weather and wildflowers ahead. But years of living through Texas seasons have taught me to search for March bluebonnets after February’s cold fronts have ended. To everything there is a season.
What season are you living through today? Are you feeling the warmth of God’s love and awaiting a harvest with hope? Or are you living by faith through a season filled with sudden storms and dormant dreams? Patient endurance will deepen your roots of faith. Consider my winter-freeze deadened vines:
Consider my winter-freeze deadened vines. Do you ever feel this way?
After our Texas snowstorm in 2021, we did not think the vines would ever bloom again. They were an eyesore of dried-up twigs and dead-looking branches. Where was the beautiful green veil we had witnessed only months before? Our resident gardener (a.k.a my husband) did not think they would ever come back to life, so he dug up the vines and threw them away. Then he planted some new Crossvine plants to replace the ones he threw out.
But he missed a vine that was hidden behind a bush. Eventually, after months of sun and rain, its leaves unfurled, one by one...and it sprung into life. We were surprised and delighted!
Compare the older vine (on the right, below) with the newly planted vine growing on the left side of the photo. The new vine’s sparse growth and yellowed leaves look pitiful compared with our verdant, deep-rooted, and weathered-tested plant.
On The Right: The Beautiful Verdant Growth of a Deeply Rooted Vine
Have the storms of life made you feel like a lifeless vine? Do you feel like you resemble the first photo more than the second one? Don’t give up hope; your story is not over! The Holy Spirit equips us with power that produces life-giving hope and renewal despite difficult seasons. In John 15, Jesus promises we will produce lasting fruit when we remain rooted in Him.
Persevere through your trials, because when you have stood the test you will receive a crown, not of lifeless thorns or even twisted vines, but a crown of life. It will be worth the wait.
Scripture: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV).
Today’s Prayer: Lord, may Your life-producing power help me to bear fruit in every good work. Please help me to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Strengthen me with all power according to your glorious might to have great endurance and patience throughout every situation. Lord, establish my faith and make it firmly rooted in your living hope. May I become like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
(For Further Reading: Psalm 1:3, Colossians 1:9-12, Colossians 1:23)
