"I will return her vineyards to her..."-Hosea 2:15
Finally, after we have learned to lean on our Lover, and are delivered from the desert season, a time of restoration replaces the dry season. While spiritual deserts may last weeks, months and even years, once the Lord sees fit, He will deliver us from them and "return [our] vineyards to [us]." Mm, the vineyard. Can you picture it? What a place of growth, of luscious greens and fruitfulness; a time of prosperity and a richness of blessings. Vineyards are mentioned many times in teh bible: "Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blosoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There i will give you my love." -Song of Songs 7:12. And truly, the vineyard is even sweeter once we've experienced the dryness and suffocating heat of the desert. How much greater does the life after a vineyard appear after a great trial? I think it's necessary to experience pain and periods of hopelessness so we can embrace the beauty of blessings and fruitful times that much more. Here, in the vineyard, the Lord is with us too; though we may be more able to see His hand here than in the desert, as blessings are abundant in this part of the journey. One of my life verses, another from Hosea, pinpoints the beautiful transition from the barren desert into a time of hope and waiting for the vineyard, and the hope we have that the Lord will restore us: "In just a short time he will restore us so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of the dawn of the coming of rains in early spring." -Hosea 6:2-3 [NLT] May we hold on to this hope and press on to know Him as we wait until we are called to enter into the vineyards.
"In that day - Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water int continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it." -Isaiah 27:2-3
What does the vineyard God has returned to you look like? Has it been full of the sweet blossoms of marriage and a life joined with your best friend? (or the beginning of that season?! ;P) Has it been a remarkable recovery after an injury, an illness or a broken heart? Has the restoration of the vineyard given you new eyes and a new heart, allowing you to see and truly rejoice in the beauty and blessings that surround you? Has it been returned to you in the form of a new friend, a divine appointment, a God-given and directed calling? No matter what the vineyard is, rejoice.
"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy; that i might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!" -Psalm 30:11-12
Vineyard: A place of restoration, fruitfulness, an abundance of blessings and prosperity.
No comments:
Post a Comment