Have you ever cut down a tree or shrub and had to deal with the shoots that sprout up all over the place afterward? They are persistent, hard to kill, fast growing and eager to help the tree survive whatever devastating event just took place. They do not whine and complain or wilt when they are cut down. They just come back stronger.
While reading Isaiah this morning I had a vision. Where God tells Isaiah to go give a word to the people that, basically because they are not turning to him, the cities are going to be destroyed, laid to waste.
“And though a tenth remain in it, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled…The holy seed is its stump.” (Isaiah 6:13 ESV)
The vision God gave me when reading this was of God pruning back these cities to where only His Spirit is left as a stump and His feeders sprouting up. They much like a tree’s feeders are dependent on the stored energy of the stump, feeding off its power (his power) and they are persistant and resilient to attack. Although they may get pruned back they continue to strive with the mission of helping the tree live.
These feeders are God’s children growing out of the rich soil created by trials and defeats in their lives, reliant on His word, feeding off their dependence and relationship with the Father. What are you feeding on? What are you relying on to give you strength to get back up? Isn’t God greater than any trial or test he allows to happen in your life. He just wants you to be totally dependent on His love and strength so that you too can bring glory to His kingdom and be a part of seeing it come alive in others lives as well.
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this post?