WHAT’S IN A COLOUR
Prior to the rains coming earlier this year the Australian countryside was a very dry brown.
Then the rains came and replenished the earth, and the Australian countryside changed to vivid green.
It is amazing what a bit of water can do.
I saw that first hand when I moved from the Tweed to Brisbane.
On the coast the earth is sustained by those coastal showers
But Brisbane last October was in the midst of a drought and the ground was brittle and dry and brown.
But it didn’t take long for the change to occur.
Our story this morning relates to change.
We are creatures of habit and our inclination is to serve ourselves.
The people in Ezekiel’s day had done just that and the result was utter devastation for them. (Ezekiel 37)
They were taken as prisoners into exile, never to see their homeland again.
It was as if a drought had come.
In their hearts and lives all they could see is death and decay.
But our God is not one to keep them there.
He wants us to enjoy life.
He had David write the 23rd Psalm which talks of life in vivid colour
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength. Ps 23: 1-3 NLT
The message is clear
We may cause our own grief or it may, like the corona virus, be thrust upon us
God comes to us and invites us to follow Him
He calls us out and encourages us to follow Him
He promises He will lead us in the right path
We can trust him, for He has proven Himself trustworthy.
In the Middle East, unlike Australia where shepherds drive their sheep, the sheep follow their shepherd.
They know it is the right way.
May you this week, look sup from the devastation around us, and see the Lord and His love enfolding you in ways that bring you life, life that you could never have found for yourself, life in abundance.
God bless you
Ron