The Refreshing, Energizing, Bursting Forth of Springtime!
“Spring has sprung, the grass is riz; I wonder where the birdies is!” What a quaint little ditty of excitement to describe the emergence of God’s beauty after giving His creation a winter’s sleep. Some sneeze with allergies from the floating pollen as trees and flowers allow the wind to blow the sleep of winter from their beauty-laden eye buds. But did you notice they sneezed with a smile? God teases us with occasional warmth that has been longed for these past several months, separated by brief reminders of the grip of cold. Yes, the refreshing, energizing, bursting forth of springtime is upon us!
Focus on the energy of this season. Animals are more active, some producing new livestock to feed and water, and watch as they grow to produce even more livestock, the Lord willing, within another year. The energy of farmers churning the ground as they plant new seed to produce new crops to feed countless numbers of hungry people is an incredible activity to behold! The energy of livestock farmers monitoring the delivery of new life from their herds and flocks is an amazing reality of God’s creation. There is an incredible aura of wonderment in the bursting forth of springtime!
But I ponder: can a kindred mind exist in the Christian, one of refreshing energy that bursts forth with an excitement to increase his faith? The answer depends on the individual’s desire to draw near to God! To prove the point, examine James 4:8 – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Jesus spoke of the soul longing for refreshment and energy gained by a fervent desire for His word. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) This passage does not say those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness will be “spoon-fed” this nourishment. Instead, 2 Timothy 2:15 places this responsibility on us, the students of His word! As Paul told Timothy, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1 Timothy 4:15 – 16) Just as the grasses and flowers of the field, the coming forth of livestock after a winter’s gestation time, the excited energy to burst forth with diligence in feasting on God’s word exudes from the souls of the faithful!
During my youth, spending weekends with my grandmother Davis provided much more than a bond between grandmother and grandson. She was a schoolteacher by trade, a bible teacher by choice. Before we would retire for the evening, we would devote no less than an hour to reading and studying the bible. This often evolved into an additional hour of questions and answers, which prompted additional study. At the conclusion, she would let me draw a bucket of fresh water from her well. At her house, that task was an “earned pleasure of responsibility.” Unless you had proven yourself responsible enough to open the door to her well and operate the windless, you were not permitted to go to the well! But having earned the honor, I would operate the windless, drawing water from the well, as she would say, “Bible study is like drawing water from my well. It is always water…but it is a bucket full you never had before!”
That water was refreshing, energizing, and as it left the pool of water in the well, the sound of the bucket rising was a bursting forth of excitement, as I watched it rising closer to my retrieval. So it is with bible study. Every verse or subject studied is God’s word. But it is a thought of life and promise that you never had before, and it energizes you to quench that increasing thirst for righteousness by indulging its refreshing taste!
Let us all appreciate the deep springs of God’s word, and its never-ending bounty of soul-saving nourishment! (Hebrews 5:12 – 14)
