Words by Bev Jones
Transformation
There’s an unseen transformation going on in my garden at the moment. I have just planted 300 (yes 300!) summer flowering bulbs. They will hopefully give a riot of colour and cheerfulness in a few months’ time, but at the moment, there is absolutely no evidence that there is such potential beauty beneath the ground; no hint at all of the transformation that is going on in the darkness underneath the soil, from now until the time the bulbs will bloom in Summer. I’m confident though that everything that’s needed for the flowers to appear is happening out of sight. In the darkest place, those bulbs will be taking in all the nutrients they need in order to grow. Maybe sometimes it's the same with us in our Christian walk.
From my own experience, it's the dark times that bring the greatest transformation and growth in my relationship with Jesus. Those times when there seems to be no let up and very little light in difficult circumstances, have been the times when I've experienced God's peace, presence and transforming power most noticeably. Although outwardly things don't appear to change, inwardly there is significant transformation as I experience the faithfulness, peace and comfort that God can bring in dark times.
Photo by Aziz Acharki via Unsplash
I’ve found there are moments, despite the darkness, that it is possible to feel a joy that transcends that shadowy place. Only God can do that. Joy, I have discovered, has very little to do with happiness, which is quite superficial and relies heavily on happenings. I've found - amazingly - that joy is something that is possible even in the most difficult of circumstances when I lean into God and trust Him to give me the strength to get through that darkness. The remarkable thing is that when we allow God to work in us in those bleakest of times - when we trust that He is in control (however difficult that is at the time), then he often brings us alongside others at a later date that are going through similar difficulties, and I believe it's then when the full impact of our ongoing transformation takes place. Those times when we can support others and stand with them in their times of difficulty, trusting in the One who has each of our names engraved on his hands.
Today has been a day when many of the people I’ve communicated with have been quite low. The enormity of what we as a nation are going through is starting to take its toll on even the most positive person. In the days, weeks and months ahead, we will all have times like that – but we won’t all have them on the same day. We need therefore to make sure that we’re there for people when they’re in those dark places. If we allow all of God’s goodness to permeate and strengthen us as we wait on Him in those difficult times, we will be far more able to minister to others when they go through their own periods of darkness. That’s what being connected to each other is all about.
He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 2 Corinthians 1:4, The Message
- Bev Jones
2/4/20
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