by Shae Cooke

I love springtime, don’t you? It’s as though God showers us with gifts of newness. I savor my long walks here in Western Canada, especially on soft spring days when the heavenly sapphire sky sparkles with promise. They are gentle days with calm, warm breezes filled with the fragrance of hyacinth, cherry blossom and lilac.

However, springtime in the northwest isn’t always gentle. Sometimes it crashes in with gale-force winds, dark, menacing clouds, and unforgiving rains, and for a moment, I might lose sight of spring. Crocuses duck safely back undercover in the damp, spicy earth, blossoms fly off flowers, and trees bend as though they’re going to snap. It’s a letdown—and if it weren’t for the signs and promises of spring, I’d lose hope.

As a believer, there are dark spring days in my life, but I always know that they hold promise because I’ve tasted of God’s goodness and grace. I’ve smelled the sweet fragrance of His lovingkindness and felt the joy of knowing Him. Before I knew the Lord, though, I didn’t know the promise of spring, and gloomy days only promised to darken. I had nothing to hang on to or place my hope in. But now, when the winds whip and I feel as though I’m going to break, I cry out to God, “I think I’m gonna snap . . . help!” and I know He will answer me.

I have learned though, that many of these winds are refining winds. Botanists say that trees need the strong spring winds to flex and loosen trunks and primary branches, so the sap can draw up to nourish budding leaves. Our trials provide nourishment for new growth. As we trust God to bring glory through the relentless winds and storms—as we persevere, He strengthens us. Even as we brace and hold on for dear life, the sweet sap of God’s grace, His mercy, His lovingkindness, His power, His goodness, and His glory draws up in us as He turns our trials and heartaches and the bending forces of the enemy’s snare, into new growth.

Do you feel like you’re going to snap? Take heart. He turns your trials into new branches, your heartache into tender new shoots, your thirst into refreshing springs of Living Water, your hunger into fresh spiritual fruit, and your desert into a supernatural oasis!

We need spring—not only in the natural, but in the supernatural as well. The winds may blow, but they are our opportunity for a fresh anointing, restoration, healing, cleansing, correction, revelation, and a new fire of desire in our hearts for God.

Biting winds create the opportunity for miracles, signs, wonders, new purpose, new visions, and a nearness to God we’ve never experienced before. Most importantly, though those winds threaten to break us, they won’t. Sure, we’ll bend, and a few small branches may break off—but our main branch stays intact as the sweet sap of God’s grace rises up in us to nourish and encourage us. We have to trust that we won’t break. God never says, “Oops!”

In the winds, remember His promises. You’ll survive the storms because you’ve tasted of Him. You’ll live as an overcomer and your branches will bow under the weight and fruit of God’s glory and blessings.

Are You in Need of Hope Today?

If you’d like that same hope—to feel the refreshing rain of God’s presence, to smell the sweet fragrance of His love, and to taste of His fruit in your life, ask Him into your storm, and into the very depths of your heart. Every season of your life will be filled with promise, no matter how dark, how horrible, how painful, because of His great sacrifice. He loves you more than you can ever grasp—His love is far-reaching. You are a wonderful creation—He has created you to bend—embrace Him and His grace and love.

If you have prayed this prayer, trust Him to comfort you in your storms. He’s promised us the peace that passes understanding—peace in the wildest and darkest storm. Even when the wind blows around you, you’ll know hope and peace; springtime every day, and you won’t break! God doesn’t make mistakes and He never changes. Breathe in the fragrance now of His love, strength, grace, and power. Feel His sap rise in you, and the weight and depth of His love and hold on to Him!

©2006 Shae Cooke. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Bio:

Canadian writer/author/editor, Shae Cooke is also a mother and former foster child, who shares her heart and God’s message of hope to a wide audience. Shae also “grows ministries for the Kingdom” with her business, A Pencil in God’s Hand Ministry Services. She writes, edits, and ghostwrites books for those with burning messages of God’s love. Her personal credits include works in: Chicken Soup for a Girlfriend’s Soul, Open My Eyes, Open My Soul, Humor for a Teacher’s Heart, God’s Way for Women, Cup of Comfort Devotions, Experiencing the Great I Am, the Groovy Chick’s Road Trip to Peace, and others, as well as articles in newspapers and magazines worldwide. To read more, please visit her website at: http://www.shaecooke.com.