This is the time of year that every gardener hates. All those beautiful flowers you enjoyed all summer are now drooping, discoloured, or dead. All of them have to be cut back or pulled out and sent to the landfill. Soon the snow will fly and cover up any trace of life. But the marvel of it is that after half a year of being buried, they’ll shoot right up again in the spring when there’s a hint of warmth. A few of them will even push right up through the last of the snow, anxious to grow.

This is God’s way with life. There are times when things seem very dark in our lives. We feel weighed down with troubles, poor health and hopelessness. For some people, all the things they once enjoyed are behind them and the future seems uncertain. But God has a way of reaching down and pulling us up again. Gloomy things become easier to handle. Suddenly weighty matters aren’t so bad. Faith in the God of life and light makes all the difference.

The apostle Paul explained he was “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal bodies.” (2 Cor.4:10-11). Life was hard for him, but he carried an optimistic, positive attitude based on his faith. This is God giving us life when darkness seems to surround us. “Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (verse 16)

And when this life is over, Jesus promises His people that He will raise them to something far better, and present us to God. “Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you” (verse 14).

Plants and flowers will greet us in the spring. Do you understand?

– Tim Johnson