Discovering God’s Mysterious Ways this Fall - The Crosswalk Devotional - September 22
The Crosswalk Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Lynette Kittle, Crosswalk.com
Discovering God’s Mysterious Ways This Fall
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading:
“This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” – 1 Corinthians 4:1
What’s so beautiful about fall? The answer is, “Almost everything!”
Beautiful fall colors lead the way with their bright and varied intensity. The changing hues are bright and magnificent, glorious and breath-taking, until they fade away to become the brown, and brittle. Once the splendor of vibrant colors diminishes, it causes us to look forward to what lies ahead.
Fall Reveals Some of God’s Mysterious Ways
Fall paints a picture that reveals some of the mysterious ways God works in nature and in our lives. The following are four ways.
1. Fall reveals the mystery of resurrection’s promise. Although at fall’s ending, the earth seems stark and barren, it carries the promise of the resurrection to come, as lived out in the life of Jesus on earth.
His death brought great sorrow and loss to His followers, who, during His death process on the cross, didn’t fully understand what would happen next, even though He told them.
In Revelation 1:18, Jesus explains, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Jesus’ death was followed by His glorious resurrection from the grave, bringing great joy and the promise of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, so that we, too, can live on earth filled with the power Jesus exuded.
2. Fall reveals the mystery of dying, leading to new life. Fall is literally the dying off of spring and summer’s growth. Although for most, death seems like the end, God reveals to us that dying can lead to new life.
Jesus’ death led the way to our receiving new life. As the Apostle Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 5:15, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”
Paul teaches, too, how we then die to sin and become alive in God: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:1).
3. Fall reveals the mystery of God’s secrets. Fall reveals to us that God does things in secret. After fall, when nature looks naked and stripped, God is stirring new life within the trees and plants, things we can’t see in their barrenness.
Deuteronomy 29:29 explains how, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
After fall, most outdoor trees and plants go into a survival state termed dormancy, where their outer appearances seem lifeless, but they are still very much alive on the inside, deep within, hidden from human eyes.
During the winter cold, they may look dead, but they are dramatically slowing and conserving their internal biological processes as protection from the frigid temperatures. Although hidden inside from sight, new life is forming buds and seeds, carefully preparing and preserving them to burst forth in springtime.
4. Fall reveals the mystery of God creating newness. Fall paves the way for God to create newness on the earth, ridding the land of the past and bringing forth new life, just like He does in us.
The way God transforms the hearts of sinners is truly a mystery. His Holy Spirit works deep within us, making us new and cleansing us.
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14).
God removes old things from inside of us, and creates a new us, from the inside out. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains it further: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Intersecting Faith & Life:
If fall stirs up a mixed bag of feelings and emotions for you, ask God to show you how its fading beauty leads to something even more beautiful, new life. Ask Him to stir His life and new creation within you, as you look forward to the earth’s newness to emerge.
Further Reading:
A Prayer to Deepen Your Prayer Life This Fall
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Bohdan Bevz
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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