Bearing Fruit is Beautiful (Song of Songs 2:10-13) – Lent #2

Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one. Song of Songs 2:10-13

Bearing Fruit is Beautiful (Song of Songs 2:10-13) – Beautiful Lent #2

As we are heading toward Easter here in the midwest of the United States, winter is just starting to give way to spring. Warmer, brighter days.  Blossoms and birds singing.

The Song of Songs talks about this very thing. However, you may still feel trapped in a winter of the soul. Stuck where life seems bleak and troubles persistent. I think one key to moving into the renewal of spring spiritually and emotionally is contained in these verses.

Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one.
11 For now the winter is past;
the rain has ended and gone away.
12 The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing has come,
and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land

13 The fig tree ripens its figs;
the blossoming vines give off their fragrance.
Arise, my darling.
Come away, my beautiful one. Song of Songs 2:10-13

Come away with me

God is calling us to connection with Him. “Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one.” Come spend time with Me alone. Sit in My presence and feel My love surround you, strengthening and upholding you.

When we pause to connect more intentionally and frequently with our Creator during this Lent season, we are empowered to face the trials of life and to share Him with others. Our lives begin to blossom like the plants in the spring. Our voices begin to sing of the goodness of God like the birds sing their songs in the sunshine. God does something beautiful in us and through us. The fruit of our lives is beautiful.

The fruit is the flower

The Bible art journaling this week is a branch from a fig tree. Fig trees are very interesting because the fruit is the flower. You never see what you would call a fig blossom. The flower actually turns in on itself, draws nutrients from the tree and becomes a sweet, delicious fruit.

There are times in our lives where we need to imitate these small fruits. We need to stop running all around and spreading ourselves thin and turn inward, drawing strength from our Source. As we connect with God and draw strength from Him, our lives bear fruit.

Seasons of Life

The blossoming of the fig tree also shows the passing of seasons. Seasons of life are natural and normal. Life is not sunny and perfect all the time. There are stormy seasons, winter seasons, droughts, and floods. During those seasons when our instinct is to bury ourselves in our pain or pull away in anger, we need to connection to God even more. Lent is one of the liturgical seasons designed to remind us to do exactly that.

Our hearts thaw like the frozen ground of winter and our blossoms come forth, bearing fruit. Bearing fruit is beautiful.

Action Step:

Today, take a few minutes alone to explore if some hurt or emotion is preventing you from connecting fully with God. Then, make a choice to connect in spite of the pain. This is not burying the hurt, but exercising faith when we don’t feel like it. We need connection with God the most when we feel like we don’t want it.

Turn on some worship music, pop open your Bible, or just starting talking to Him about all those things that are on your heart. Let the Son shine in and bring spring into your life today.

Prayer:

Dear God, We thank You that You do not give up on us. When it feels like You are far away, the moment we step toward You, You run toward us. Shine on our lives today, help us to bear fruit for You and do something beautiful in our lives today as we connect with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

For the Beautiful Lent Series Page, click HERE.

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