Spring: God Is On The Move Series

Spiritual Rhythm

Spring: A Fresh Encounter with God

Isaiah 35

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Praise be to God; winter does not last forever! In the depths of sorrow and pain that threatens to crush any remembrance of pleasurable times, one finds that the Man of all Seasons, Jesus, “waits with us, prunes us, and breaks our self-dependency” (39). He who raises the dead lets His glorious light shine into our lives we might see, hear, and taste the goodness He is about to give us. The moment God chooses spring breaks forth and new life returns, and with-it incredible hope (70). Though the valleys may be dark, dismal, and impossible to exit by one’s own effort; fear not for the moment the voice of the Lord sounds over our troubled waters new life is granted and no longer do we feel darkness is our only friend! The dark night of the soul cannot overcome the Light of our very best friend Jesus who having carried us in our darkest, most painful moments now invites the inflicted to stand in the whirlwind of tribulation and dance with Him in the newness of life and blessings. The moment His hand touches ours and He speaks but a single phrase, “be still,” the storm obeys, dissipates and the sun shines again. Spring has come! It is a time of gladness, joy, and great fanfare of jubilation (73) for the once parched, barren land has come back to life and while the winter scars often remain, they no longer consume us in a pit of despair but instead propel us to grab hold of whatever the Lord wants us to plant in His glorious vineyard! It is a time for emotional, moral, and physical healing as one travels on God’s prepared highway that though in winter was difficult, dangerous, and grueling to endure (87) but in spring has become smooth, straight, and peaceful for the Lord’s yoke is truly light (Matthew 11:28-30)! It is not only a time of great rejoicing but also in faithful obedience and gratitude of having been saved from winter’s bitter, painful cold one is freed up to plow, plant, and clean the fields of our lives in a manner that is holy and pleasing unto He who purchased us at the price of His very life (1 Corinthians 6:20)!

Springtime Renewal

One of the best pieces of Scripture to capture what spring really feels like is Isaiah 35 (69). Let’s read this passage slowly and carefully for contained within is a glorious picture of what it feels like to leave winter with all its dreariness and tribulations to enter springtime where new life is sown, and hope is plentiful.

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine

retribution he will come to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk on that Way.

The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah begins by stating that the desert and parched lands will rejoice and blossom upon the arrival of spring, for it is then that one gets to experience the glory and splendor of the Lord who transforms deadness to life (1-2). Spring is a time for renewals, two of which I will briefly mention. First, spring is the time when dreariness, pain, sorrow, and isolation give way to hope and peace as we sit at the feet of our Master. “Times of crises often enfeeble and terrify us. We hide in the clefts and jump at shadows. We cower in upper rooms. Our confidence in God, ourselves, in our church, in others, withers down to nearly nothing” (78). Spring is like vindication of what appears to be “cosmic rigging.” While we know chance happens to everyone and thus, we were thrusted into the death of winter, how our emotions soar in jubilation when “death” is swallowed up in the victory of blessings (80) of He who controls all things seen and unseen (Colossians 1:16)! And second and more importantly, spring follows up the winter’s pruning with filling one’s spiritual house with the righteousness of the Lord. In spring Isaiah states, we get the opportunity to walk on a highway of Holiness, where the unclean may not venture nor do they control (8-10). The attempts of the lion to send his fiery darts are thwarted by our faithful obedience to the Lord who has not only redeemed but also promises to continually rescue and protect us. If we are faithful and build our spiritual house on the foundation of the Lord then we will enter Zion with singing, and everlasting joy will crown our heads. Those who are faithful to their very best friend Jesus will no longer experience terror, pain, and darkness of the night but instead gladness and unspeakable joy of being safe and under the wings of His loving arms where they can grow and become more like Him!