Springtime Is Renewal Season

On a recent morning drive to school, my two children, ages 11 and 13, noticed the sudden plethora of wild daffodils popping out along the roadside and across hills and valleys. These yellow flowers are one of the earliest signs of spring where we live in eastern Missouri.

The stunning display of beautiful wildflowers seemed to give the kids and me an energy boost—snapping us out of a morning routine that had grown stale over the winter.

During spring, God’s renewing power is on full display.

While the warmer days and spectacular scenes of nature’s rebound play a significant role in the joys of spring, we also get to celebrate the holidays of Passover and Easter. Passover is also called Chag Ha’Aviv, which translates in English as “the spring holiday.”

What a perfect time of year to celebrate the Hebrew’s emancipation from four centuries of slavery and Christ’s victory over death. Both holidays fit perfectly with God’s renewing spring season—when dormant trees come back to life, their flowery buds transforming into lush, green leaves. 

Jesus celebrated Passover right before His crucifixion. The meal He shared with the twelve disciples—called a Seder meal in the Jewish tradition—set the stage for one of the Bible’s most dramatic scenes: the Last Supper. Once Judas leaves that upper room, the stage is set for Christ’s death and resurrection—a glorious moment that Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday.

You can see God’s resurrection power everywhere this time of year.

It’s Not Too Late

I don’t know who needs to read this: Don’t give up. God’s resurrection power is alive and well.

Your hopes and dreams may seem dead, but God wants to renew your heart and spark a new sense of wonder. You must keep your faith and trust God’s plan for your future—like Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She was childless for many years and suffered depression and cultural humiliation. Yet, her faith persevered:

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”(1 Samuel 1:10-11 NKJV)

The Lord “remembered her,” and Hannah became the mother of Samuel, one of the Bible’s greatest heroes of the faith!

Don’t Lose Hope

In the book of Luke, we read about a man named Jairus, the leader of a synagogue. His daughter suddenly became deathly ill, and Jairus searched for Jesus, believing in His healing ability. After finding Jesus, the two of them were heading back to Jairus’s house, but a messenger arrived and told Jairus the worst news he could hear:

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” (Luke 8: 49-50)

Jairus listened to Jesus, ignored the negative report, and kept believing. 

Our Lord took the girl’s hand and said, “Arise,” and she returned to life! Jairus’s daughter resurrected, becoming completely whole again!

Are you at the end of your rope and need God’s renewing strength? Is there something that looks hopeless in your life that only Jesus can restore?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your resurrection power today. Over the coming days, as we observe Passover and Easter, renew me like you renew the trees each spring. Please give me a fresh start in my body, mind and spirit. I thank You for Your restoration and rejuvenation. Amen.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.