“The LORD brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap.”
2 Samuel 2:6-8
Besides the Bible, my favorite place to see this truth come alive is in nature. Recently, during one of our Someday Refuge retreats, we were taking our guests on a hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains to get fresh air, engage with God in His creation, and find a waterfall. I’m sure you already know that water is one of the most powerful sources of life on our planet and there is evidence that even the sound of it rejuvenates the human soul.
We were a small group of four hikers and our guests led the way along the dirt trail, up and over roots, following the river upstream and gradually ascending to the inevitable wow-moment of finding the promised cascading water. Inevitably, I was the one trailing behind, my eyes to the ground, scanning for little treasures and signs of God wherever He can be found: a bright yellow cap from an acorn, a stick with doodles left from a beetle, slabs of bark from Ponderosa Pines that pull apart like puzzle pieces in your hand, and bright green moss. These are the familiar favorites of my childhood and they draw me in even as I sense the hurries of life fading in the distance.
As I picked up my pace to catch up, new warmth from the sun touched me from the left and caused me to pause to notice the reason for the sudden lack of shade. A burn scar from the previous burn was evident in that section of the forest. Bare logs stood upright in a grove of burned pine trees. Naked branches jutted out from the straight poles, their needles long since burned off and their ability to provide a canopy for the forest floor had been stripped away. My thoughts went to the wildfires that were burning in Southern California at the time and I grieved the fury of the wildfires that often destroy our forests and even whole towns in our dry state. “How sad, Lord,” I thought to myself. “Why does it have to be like that?”
My thought seemed to be returned with an immediate response. I looked at the ground where the sun was landing and baby saplings were dancing in the breeze. I was reminded of the promises in the Bible: God brings life from death, He makes all things new, I am a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come, he has lifted me out of the ash heap…
The Creator of the Universe has done this for me. Although my old life is gone and I have to concentrate to bring it back, God has restored my soul. My mind is able to have long stretches of time without despair and I can walk through the forest again with joy, just as I did when I was a child. It’s taken time, of course, but He’s done it. New life sprouts up from my life journey now. My kids are all adults in varying stages of brain development and relationships, one married, two engaged, two making remarkable headway in college and becoming aware of their own needs to process their life stories with the help of therapists. Hope springs up. I myself am remarried and Brent and I have committed our time and energy to this ministry that creates a safe place for others to process their pain and heal. He’s brought beauty from ashes because that’s who He is. And not only that! There will be souls in Heaven who have sought salvation in Christ as a result of Chris’s life and death… and maybe even from my testimony.
Is your soul heavy with grief today? No matter where you live, dare to go outside. Find a path and look for signs of God’s life-giving nature. Take a picture or video to remind yourself of it when you find yourself in despair. Dare to hope and pray for renewal. You too will sprout again and dance in the light of the sunshine.