I
sit on this bench: immobility in a park meant for enjoyment. I sit, and I look
down, focused on myself. It is dry out. My heart matches the grass: dead
without water to pour into it and sun to shine on it. And then, something cold
hits my arm—a small droplet of refreshment: I’ll call it revival, for that’s
what it does to me—it sends a stroke of feeling through me, awakening me to a
world outside myself. I look around and up to the heavens, searching for the
source.
I,
again, become distracted by my own thoughts. And then another falls on my knee.
I flinch, shocked that one small drop of water can carry this much weight—that
it can offer this much newness. I search for the source, curious about where
this is coming from. I want more, but I still don’t know it.
And
then comes another, and another. My forehead is hit: renewed. My cheek is
touched: revived. My hands are coated: remade. My eyes are turned upward:
opened.
It
started out slow, one drop at a time calling me from that park bench: I ignored
it.
But
then, with my eyes turned upward, I see the heavens open up as more and more of
these droplets of refreshment, renewal, and regrowth fall to the ground to
touch me: to make me new and alive and awake.
I
can’t take my eyes away, and I never want this rain to be taken away. I am
brought to my feet, standing in the middle of an open grassy field, crying out,
“Coat me in Your renewal! All of me!”
I
am desperate for more of this grace: more of this newness.
I think back to who I was two years ago. I was that
girl sitting on a park bench, too obsessed with self to really recognize the
God who began sending drops of grace and renewal and revival my way. As each
would touch me, I was awakened a little more to the source of refreshment and
life itself: Jesus. But here’s the thing about God’s love: if we’re looking for
it, we will find it.
One of the most beautiful promises of the Bible is
this: “For I know the
plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call
on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me
and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
So turn your eyes to the heavens,
and cry out: “Coat me in Your renewal! All of me!” Stand up from the park bench
you are sitting on, and stand in the open: the place where God has access to
all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul—all of you.
And then, watch as He pours out His
love upon you: His love will come like the rain. It is sent from Heaven:
something we can only receive. We cannot earn it—we must simply open our hearts
to receive it. It falls to the ground to touch us: the ultimate picture of
humility. Jesus left His throne to know you. He was nailed to a cross to know
you. His love will fall from Heaven so He can know you. He will never stop
pursuing you unto new life, just as the rains chase the dry grass.
So let our dry hearts stand thirsty
below the heavens, crying out: “Coat me in Your renewal! All of me!”
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the
spring rains that water the earth.
Hosea 6:3
Hosea 6:3
