Beneath The Surface

Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest. Jeremiah 5:24

God has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17 (NIV)

REFLECTION:

It has been raining a lot this week. The ground is soft and muddy beneath my feet.

What strikes me this morning, however, is what's happening invisibly beneath the surface. Even as I sit and type this devotion, all that water is nourishing the ground, making the soil rich for the coming spring. On a cellular level, billions of things are happening that will make flowers and grass and leaves possible in just a few short weeks. There is a flurry of activity just beneath my feet, preparing for new life.

I find myself wondering this morning; can I trust the same thing is happening in my heart? That even the rain, even the hard times, are watering me...and that God is busy with a flurry of activity beneath surface, ready to bring out new life in me and in the world?

Yes, I can trust that. So can you. In just a few days, we will wave our palm branches and shout "Hosannah!" Back then, they didn't know that a different kind of kingdom was emerging that what they expected. But now we know. Now we know that God's kingdom doesn't come through force or might; it comes through new life...it comes in a million ways on a million days...it breaks in wherever new life is needed.

So...can you sense it today? The flurry of activity beneath your feet preparing for Spring? Can you sense the flurry of activity in your heart preparing you for Easter morning? Can you sense that new life is coming? Can you sense it is already here?

PRAYER:

Creator God, in all seasons of life, we give thanks for your presence, love, comfort and guidance. Teach us this day to serve your kingdom with greater enthusiasm, and in doing so fill our hearts with joy. Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts