It was a beautiful seed
Until it dropped, scorched it lay
Until it was swallowed by earth
Lost and alone in the dark
Until it was drenched, drowned
That beautiful seed once upon a time
Lost it all, gasped to death, buried
By weights too many, forgotten
Until those tender greens shot up
Alive, anew; so tender, so awesome
Brimming new life in the very place of death
The old seed, knocked down and out by
Heartbreaking adversities, transformed
Into the breathtaking beauty of a new life
I visited a church on Sunday. I sat at the back observing; my ears taking in, feeling, testing the words as lyrics upon lyrics, garnished in melodious rhythms poured from the altar. I am a worshipper and can easily get lost in His Presence but I was wearied as the singing stretched on end, from one song to the other. And I couldn’t sit. I stood there, watching, hungering, thirsting, waiting, seeking, reaching for a touch, a stirring, a link, something that connects me to presence of the One for whom I came, as we went from one song to the other….
Then this song by Bethel, “This is what You do” came on and in the midst of my waiting, one sentence struck a chord: “You make me come alive!” In times like this, when disaster is striking back and forth in all parts of the globe, with all the issues arising here and there, I have been asked again and again, “Why are you so happy?” There are countless reasons to be sad but I find myself overflowing with irrepressible joy. The last time I was hit with that question, I stepped out to have a chat with me. “Why are you so excited? Are you okay?” Is something wrong with me, I wondered? Am I missing something? Despite the lack of a clear answer to that question, I had peace within.
That Sunday morning, I didn’t find the connection I sought to get lost in worship in His presence but I didn’t leave empty. I could not pour my love and lavish adoration upon Him as I would have loved to but God found a way to use that song to minister to me instead. I found the reason to the bubbling joy that in spite of all the discouraging challenges within and around, still finds fullness in and expression through me: God makes me come alive!
What an assurance in times like this of massive discouragement and utter destruction: He makes all things new. He calls light out of darkness. When the end is starring us in the face, God kicks off a new season, a new life, a new beginning. When circumstances have come to steal, to kill and to destroy, God makes us come alive again. Not with the old life that struggled and barely could meet or keep up, but a new life that is not afraid to step out of hiding, step up stairs we once feared, to take a stand by faith. What a blessed hope as individuals and communities grapple with disasters that have come and may come again when, only God knows. Missed opportunities, wasted years, dreaded events, even death are not the end of us no matter what they take from us: God makes it all up. It might seem like all we lived and worked for has been taken from us but guess what: God gives new beginning that beats times and age.
As you deal with what is in your hands, find hope in His Words: God gives life to the dead and calls those things that be not as though they were until they become. HE makes all things new – nothing excluded. The one who called forth creation from chaos in the beginning is able to make all thing new in us and for us as we trust Him though our challenges. Be encouraged: God is with you. He is faithful, He is able, He is the giver of new life. You shall be renewed.
Blessings
Glory!