By Chelsea Pollard
Spring is an amazing time of year. Flowers are blooming and life has a fresh start! Spring is a time of renewal when the dead, brown look of winter is replaced with vibrant life.
Our relationship with God is like spring, only it doesn’t have to be limited to a single season! If we’re doing our part, God gives us new life.
When David was confronted over his sin with Bathsheba he wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). David asked God to correct his flaws and accept him spiritually. “Renew” was a word that meant, “Go back to how it used to be.” David didn’t want what he had currently to be his relationship with God. He wanted a pure heart and he wanted to return to the spiritual life he had before.
God gives us a physical example of spiritual renewal with Spring. We can watch the earth bloom into new life. Just like the old, dead person we used to be is replaced with a new, living spirit! We are told to throw away our old selves because that way of life is corrupt. We have to have new minds and new behaviors (Eph. 4:20-24) because that’s more like God.
We have new minds and behaviors when we encourage people instead of using our words to tear them down. Misusing our words actually hurts the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:29)!
We have new minds and behaviors when we get rid of negative thoughts, feelings, and actions (Eph. 4:31). We replace those bad qualities with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (Eph. 4:32).
Many climates get new life during Spring, a big contrast from all of the death in Fall and Winter. When we show kindness, compassion, and forgiveness and we’re trying to be faithful, God makes our souls new like Spring (Eph. 4:32, 1 John 1:7-10). We renew ourselves because our ultimate goal is to be where “new” is the only thing we’ll know (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 65:17, Romans 8:18-24)!
As we watch the flowers bloom, the gardens grow and the earth return to its green, beautiful state, I know I’ll be humming to myself, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Life and Favor (Job 10:12) 