We are musing over the dead lawn that I have. We saw in Job 12:7 (HCSB) "But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you." We then compared this verse with learning spiritual lessons from a lawn that had "winterkill." And in this, we considered the fact that when we allow the frost, snow, and ice of life, and the variance of being hot or cold for Jesus, we spiritually can experience winterkill. Not loss of salvation, but the loss of relationship and the beauty of it. We discovered to restore the lawn it would take me doing some things - rake, aeriate, seed, water, and wait. We have considered that the dead needs to be removed before the joy can be restored. The hardened ground (heart) needs to be aerated (plowed), the right seed applied, a need to water, and finally today the last step - wait.
Yes, after all the work up to this point, I will need to wait for the lawn to be totally restored. I can have the confidence that the grass will grow and my lawn will once more be beautiful. Of course, it is the confident expectation that the yard can and will be beautiful again that will push me to do what is required to make it happen. The Bible speaks of waiting on the Lord - consider these verse -
"It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD." Lamentations 3:26. (NASB)
"I wait for Yahweh; I wait and put my hope in His word." Psalm 130:5 (HCSB)
In the verse from Lamentations, Jeremiah uses a Hebrew word yâchı̂yl that means to wait or hope with great expectation, it is in the imperfect tense which means we are to wait and keep on waiting. The Psalmist uses a different word, he choses the word qâvâh which means to wait, look for, hope, expect, however this is in the perfect tense and means a completed action. The word hope in this passage is the word that Jeremiah used, only again it is in the perfect tense.
My favorite verse (also my life verse) is "But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind." Isaiah 40:31 (The Message)
Isaiah uses the word qâvâh meaning to wait, expect, look for the same as the Psalmist did. We need to expectantly look to God to fulfill what He has promised. And Isaiah tells us that we will get fresh strength by looking to God. That Hebrew word is châlaph - to change, substitute, alter, change for better, renew. When we seek expectantly from God, we will exchange our feeble strength for His strength. We will have the joy of our salvation restored.
Just as I expect that following the steps above will bring me a beautiful lush lawn again, I can expect that following God's design will restore the joy of my salvation. While it will take a period of time for my grass to green and grow, by doing the above God will quickly give me a relationship that grows and encourages me daily.
Spend some time today with God. Exchange your frailty for His strength. Your finite for His infinite. Your weakness for His wealth. "Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey!" Psalm 51:12 (NET)
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