II Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
I was watching an episode of The Waltons and something was said that had spiritual application to me. Olivia was telling Erin that every fall she would place her cactus plant in the dark cellar. Erin replied with "poor plant". Olivia told her not to look at it that way. After a month in the dark there would be flowers on the plant.
That got me thinking how at times God will allow us to spend time in dark places in order that our life might produce flowers. Those dark times are not necessarily pleasant. They can tend to be lonely times but those dark times only last for a period of time. When we come out of them we should have beautiful flowers in our life that show forth the beauty and fragrance of Christ in our lives.
So don't feel sorry for yourself or some other child of God when they dark times come. God has us there to bloom. It is in those dark times that the light of Christ shines the brightest.
16 comments:
I like that! Thanks, Julie. I have some friends in a dark place right now, and I'm sure they can't see how a blossom can possibly come from it...also, I think some flowers take a little longer to bloom.
Mrs Julie that i a good thought. We grow more in those dark places that is for sure. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Bro Tim
Sis. Deborah...You are right. Only God knows how long it will take for that flower to bloom. So each person's dark time will vary. But I'm thankful for those flowers that God allows to sprout and bloom.
Bro. Tim....Yes we do. I've been praying for y'all in your dark time that you are going through. I know the flowers that come forth from your time will be beautiful....because you are choosing to let God work in and through it. We love you!!
That is profound!
I wish I could pay attention better to things around me, even to an old TV show, and could make application.
That Good Part...I love how God will use anything that is said to speak to His children.
Great Post....Sweet blog!!!
Lisa's Blessed A Latte....Thank you. Please come back soon!
Dear Julie
My girl's and I watch the waltons.We really enjoy this show, it's one of the few decent ones left.I pray things are looking up for you.Congratulations on being a grammie :)
Hugs Lisa
Sis. Lisa...Thank you so much!! I'm very excited as you can well imagine.
THAT is so neat, did you know that Poinsettias are the same way "Poinsettias bloom only when they experience long nights." That does so remind me of the Lord's work in our lives-so that we will bloom. Thank you for the encouragement! Blessings~Heather
http://www.ehow.com/how_3564_keep-poinsettia-going.html
Sis. Heather...I did not know they were like that. I'm sure there are other plants that are the same way...but when they spoke of the cactus...it just blessed my heart in the way the Lord spoke to me.
What an interesting and comforting post. God allows us to go through dark times so there would be some growth/fruit in our lives.
I know there are things that God can do in our characters and lives in the dark that could not be done in the light. For example, we can say how much we love our neighbour - but it isn't until we are in a position where we need to love the unloveable that our love is tested and purified. Our patience/longsuffering is made stronger by enduring difficult situations where we have to persevere and wait for God to do something. We can go through seemingly chaotic situations and there we will learn what God's peace is really like - until then, we may think we know peace, but we have only a glimpse of His peace.
Thank you for posting this illustration.
Bro. Jerry....You are so right!! I am always so excited when God speaks to me directly...but even moreso when He uses something that is said by someone in my everyday life.
Sis Julie ~ How encouraging this post and the one above about stress both are. I love the thought that I'm just being prepared to bloom when the dark times arise. Beautiful and comforting.
Sis. Jodi...It was a great comfort to me when the Lord gave it to me. And to think it came from an episode of The Waltons...LOL!!
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