Lent Day 9
Lent Day 9
Hymn: “Hymn of Promise” Hymn of Promise (youtube.com)
Favorite Line: “In the bulb there is a flower. In the seed an apple tree. In cocoons a hidden promise, butterflies will soon be free”
Why: “The beauty to come is hidden for a long time in something that looks nothing like what will be. Bulbs and cocoons are brownish and dirty; who would ever imagine that flowers and butterflies are gestating in there? A seed is tiny; who would dream it could become something tall and sturdy like a tree?” (pg. 8)
This response comes from James Howell in his book Unrevealed Until Its Season: A Lenten Journey with Hymns. This book is the inspiration for this entire devotional. I love what Howell is focusing our attention on, and that is that we often can’t imagine the future that God is preparing for us. It’s hard to imagine the vision that God paints in scriptures like Isaiah 11:6-9 (lions will lay down with lambs) or Micah 4:3 (swords will be beaten into plowshares) or the book of Revelation and its vision of a new heaven and a new earth, when we look around at all the pain, suffering, fracturing, and brokenness in our world. It is tough for us to see the grand vision and to see how the kingdom of God is manifesting in the brokenness of this world. On a personal level, it is sometimes hard to see how God is going to change us into the people who God has called us to be. Because we are too sinful, broken, or lost.
And yet, it doesn’t matter. The acorn doesn’t need us to understand how it is going to become a mighty oak. No, we just need to have faith and trust that when we plant an acorn, what will spring forth is an oak tree, and it is nothing like it was before. We do need to fully understand how God is going to accomplish all of those things. We just need to trust and have faith that God is going to take this messed up world and transform it into something beautiful. God is going to take you and me and transform it into something beautiful. And of course, the process is messy, and we don’t like the transformation at all times. And yes, the transformation is hard, but when we reach where God is leading, it will make sense.
So trust that in the bulb, there is a flower, and in you right now, God is working to make something that you won’t recognize, but I know it will be amazing!
grace and peace,
Pastor Lee