Sharing my morning devotion.....

We Trust The Seasons, Why Not God

Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.” (Jeremiah 1:11-12 )

My favorite time of year is the fall. I’m energized by the cool weather, crisp air, and colorful landscape. The season swells with holiday romance and the promise of peace on earth, good will toward man.

The seasons come and go as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, and God set the seasons in motion as a way of saying, “Year in and year out, you trust the seasons to return, now trust me to be just as faithful.”

In a vision, God explained this to the poet Jeremiah:

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ I replied, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’ The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly, for I watch over my word to accomplish it.’” (Jeremiah 1:11-12 )

More than likely, God chose the almond for his illustration because in Israel it is traditionally the first tree to bloom, signaling the arrival of spring. Jeremiah would know it as the “watch tree” because it was the tree you watched as you waited for the season of new life.

As God teaches Jeremiah, there is good-natured humor in his play on words (more evident in the Hebrew). In a sense, the exchange goes like this:

- God: Jeremiah, what do you see?

- Jeremiah: I see a branch from the “watch” tree.

- God : That’s right! Use it as a reminder that I “watch” over my word, that I am constantly at work whether or not you can see what I’m doing.

The ebb and flow of the seasons are greeting cards from God, reminding us that things are not always as they seem. We tend to live by sight and not by faith, but God is patiently teaching us to do it the other way around – live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV)

Have a blessed day!
Jody