When You're Desperate For Renewal
Heading into spring each year, I feel a deep sense of longing for the same things: warmth on my face, green in the landscape, and color along the paths. Do you feel it, too? The promise of a new season is captivating, yet perhaps we remain discouraged from seasons past. Maybe the newness of a fresh month, despite the growth around you, causes you to question if there is any growth in you.
Spring reminds us how God faithfully breathes newness into dry bones, barren gardens, and weary hearts alike. The new life He gives is not a one-time event but a constant renewal—moment to moment, day to day, season to season. This gracious cycle of redemption offers us hope and transformation regardless of our current circumstances or feelings.
So, if you, too, are desperate for renewal, look to these three places and be encouraged by how God is working anew in your life.
Look to God: Renewal in the unseen.
Creation began in a garden, and I often wonder if that is why we are naturally designed to look for tangible fruit to measure growth. We look for earthly gain to gauge our success or to achieve and solidify our worth. However, 2 Corinthians 4:18 reminds us to not only “fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
One of my favorite artists is Georgia O’Keefe. If you are familiar with Georgia O’Keefe’s work at all, then you know she is famous for painting the unfurling details of flowers. Her art invites you into the details of a flower, like a descending spiral staircase. Upon a visit to her gallery, a book showcasing her art caught my eye. It was entitled: To See Takes Time.
It made me think about how we often limit our perception of God working in our lives based on what we see, forgetting that he works both in what we see and in what we don’t. Or perhaps we are simply moving too quickly to notice Him at all. If you are feeling desperate for renewal today, rest in the reminder that renewal takes time and may very well be taking root in unseen ways.
“So, do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
This spring, allow for pause and pray for the Spirit to help you remember the unseen. Though unseen, God’s presence is available to you, guiding you through the seasons of joy and sorrow. So, for lasting renewal, look to God before looking at the things of this world, and be encouraged that He is the good gardener, ultimately responsible for the fruit seen in time.
2. Look around you: Renewal in nature.
When I am weary, my favorite place to look for God’s presence is in nature. Bulbs mysteriously bloom. Branches breathe new life. Mothers birth babies. Just as the natural world experiences cycles of growth, decay, and rebirth with each passing season, our lives mirror this pattern of renewal orchestrated by a loving Father. Recognizing these parallels helps us understand that God’s handiwork is ushering in renewal and purpose with the changing seasons.
Spring characteristically represents a season of new beginnings, where dormant seeds burst forth with life. Summer embodies the abundance of God’s blessings, while autumn symbolizes a time of shedding and letting go. Winter, often perceived as a period of dormancy, is a prelude to the rejuvenation that awaits the following spring.
Perhaps our desperation after winter marks a prelude to the new work God has prepared for us to walk in this spring. Allow this season to serve as a reminder that God is, in fact, still working in your life, just as he is in all of creation. Allow this season to reflect the growth and newness from years of dormancy.
What will bloom in your life over the coming months is a result of that which was planted by faith in previous seasons, so don’t forget to look for the harvest of refreshment God has prepared just for you.
Goergia O’Keefe: Poppy
3. Look ahead: Renewal once and for all.
The concept of God making things new is intricately linked to both the redemption and restoration we see throughout the entirety of scripture. Life’s inevitable hardships and trials are not permanent but rather sanctifying steps toward a greater Kingdom.
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