…and last of all, as to one untimely born,
He appeared to me, also.
1 Corinthians 15:8
My grandma called them “jump-up lilies.” They are bulbs that yield a mass of long, smooth leaves in the spring. The leaves are prolific and green. But for all their promise, they die back in early summer without so much as a single bloom.
What a disappointment. The plant spends the majority of the summer dying slowly and looking unsightly. Finally, I clean all the dead leaves away, leaving bare dirt where they grew.
Done. Finished. No sign of life. Definitely past hope.
But I know better. I’ve had these lilies for years, and I know the best is yet to come.
In late summer, when the rest of the garden is summer-worn, I look out one day and find blooms where there was not even a hint of life. These lilies spring up so quickly, it appears they have leapt out of the ground. They always fill my heart with joy. They don’t seem to care that they are breaking all the rules. They burst out of the ground at the bidding of their Creator the moment the blooms are mature.
The apostle Paul was the one called by God after the Lord had already been crucified, resurrected, and returned to the Father. He compared himself to one “born out of due time” (NKJV). But God’s timing is always flawless. God knew what would best give Paul the humility he needed to become a vessel of honor and servant of high calling.
Maybe you once grew up green and full of promise. Maybe your faith has been scorched and endured so many dry days, you have died back to the dirt. There is an empty field where you expected a harvest. Disappointment has killed your joy. It appears nothing has come of your struggles to live for Him. More than once, you’ve been tempted to give up.
But deep inside, beneath the apparent barrenness, there is life. God is at work. He has plans to bring you into a place of fruitfulness at the perfect moment.
Wait for it…wait for it…
It’s coming. Joy is on the way. Hang on with all your strength to every promise in God’s Word. You have not been abandoned or forgotten. On the contrary, you’re growing just as He planned.
You were created for this time. You are God’s workmanship, a thing of beauty, awaiting the moment He commands, “Arise.”
So hang on. Wait in faith. Believe in a faithful Creator to finish the amazing work He is doing in you. It will be worth every tear, each desperate prayer, all your trust. The seasons are changing; the earth is stirring.
Arise.