But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.
Psalms 52: 8
Summer is such a beautiful season in the mountains. We’ve enjoyed an abundance of sunshine this summer, and the flowers I planted in the spring, as well as the various wildflowers, are flourishing as they soak up the sun. I love all flowers, and even the flowers that grow in the wild that some would consider weeds, I find beautiful. They are a constant reminder of our creator who made all things.
Watching how the flowers respond to the sunlight makes me think about how my own faith flourishes when I get plenty of “son” light. When I spend adequate time with Jesus, my faith flourishes. However, if I neglect my time with Jesus, I feel as if my faith is floundering rather than flourishing.
Just as a plant deprived of sunlight struggles to develop robust blossoms, I suffer from failure-to-bloom syndrome when I don’t get enough “son” light. I feel ungrateful, I begin comparing my life to others, and I start to feel that old negative thinking creeping in. It doesn’t take long for depression, hopelessness, and discouragement to take root.
When I spend time in worship, prayer, and reading my Bible, the light of the son causes me to bloom spiritually. As I reflect on God’s promises, grace, mercy, and love, I begin to flourish as the fruit of the spirit takes root in my life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galations 5: 22
The bible contains several verses about flourishing faith. We were created to flourish and bear fruit. As righteous people, who belong to God, we weren’t made to settle for failure-to-bloom syndrome.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will remain fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Psalms 92: 12-15
As a woman who will turn 60 years old on my next birthday, I want to bear fruit in my old age. I want to remain fresh and green, and I want to still be proclaiming, “God is my rock,” for the rest of my days on this earth.
Sometimes I wonder why I ever settle for failure-to-bloom syndrome when I can be flourishing in the Lord. How much better life is, even on those difficult days, when I make the choice to flourish by soaking up plenty of “son” light rather than floundering just to make it through the day.
Is your faith flourishing? Is the fruit of the Spirit blossoming in your life? What is one thing you can do today to flourish in your walk of faith?
