By Pastor Kristin Wenck
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” John 11:25
There is something that happens every spring that is miraculous in my eyes. Plants in my garden that went away completely over winter begin to come up in shoots of green. This past year, there was one that burnt in the sun in July, and by October, all that could be seen was a brown stick that I left so that I would remember where it was because I was planting other things into that bed. I thought it had died, and it was one that I really loved. I almost dug it out, but I decided to let it be. Sure enough, this spring it came back, three times the size it was last year! I have since learned that even though it is supposed to be a perennial, in many places it will burn and fade away before fall, only to come again the next year. This year, it has started to turn brown already, but I believe that just like last year, it will come back again with new life in the spring. A resurrection of sorts. A reminder that there is life working in plants even when we cannot see any signs of life. A reminder to walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)
That particular scripture is part of a passage discussing the resurrection of people. The fact that life is not over when we die. Life on earth is over, but there is life after death in the presence of Jesus, or not. Jesus died and was raised again on the third day to demonstrate this fact. John the apostle assures us that “now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3)
Romans 4:16-21
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Abraham believed God for Isaac, the son that He had promised. It took approximately 25 years for that promise to come to pass, but it did! Is there anything in your life, a promise of God written in the Bible or given in your heart by the Holy Spirit, that you are still waiting to see? Does it look like something has died, naturally speaking? Keep on hoping, keep on waiting—even contrary to hope, like Abraham. Walk by faith and not by sight! There will always be times when things look bleak, when it seems like nothing is happening, or like something is over, but if God said it, there is still life in it. If it is for an appointed time, wait for it, believe in it.
Nature and gardening teach patience. You can’t hurry it up. You can try to force things, but that doesn’t always work out well. Abraham and Sarah tried to get an heir their own way, and they succeeded. Ishmael was born. But that wasn’t God’s plan, and God didn’t allow that birth to change His plan either. Maybe it is time to resurrect some hope that you thought was over, time for God to breathe His life into some plan or purpose that seems to be dead. Spring is the season of birth and rebirth. Let God’s Word bring resurrection life back to you as you keep the faith and wait for His promises to come to maturity in your life.
