APRIL 18, 2013
From
Bleak To Beautiful
Read: Job 42:10-17
The Lord blessed the
latter days of Job more than his beginning. —Job 42:12
Spring
is the time of year when God reminds us that things are not always as
they
seem. Over the course of a few short weeks, what appears hopelessly dead
comes
to life. Bleak woodlands are transformed into colorful landscapes. Trees
whose
naked arms reached to heaven all winter, as if pleading to be clothed,
suddenly
are adorned with lacy green gowns. Flowers that faded and fell to the
ground in
surrender to the cold rise slowly from the earth in defiance of death.
In
scripture, we read about some apparently hopeless situations. One example
is
that of a wealthy man named Job whom God described as having integrity
(Job
2:3). Disaster struck and Job lost everything important to him. In misery,
he
said, “My days are . . . spent without hope” (7:6). What appeared to Job
and
his friends as evidence that God had turned against him was just the
opposite.
God was so confident of Job’s integrity that He trusted him in this
battle with
Satan. Later, Job’s hope and life were renewed.
The
faithful arrival of spring every year comforts me when I’m in a situation
that
seems hopeless. With God, there is no such thing. No matter how bleak
the
landscape of life may look, God can transform it into a glorious garden of
color and fragrance.
Dear God, we pray for faith anew,
For greater trust in all we do,
For hope that never knows defeat,
For victory at Thy mercy seat. —Brandt
With God, there is hope even in the most hopeless situation.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
