Everywhere spring flowers are popping up! One of my favorites are Johnny
Jump Ups (AKA violas), miniature Pansy-faced flowers of deep violet, mauve,
yellow and white. They can be found as lone survivors poking up through a crack
in the sidewalk, sprouting in the middle of a grassy yard, or huddled in the
middle of a scrubby field.
At times we may feel like those displaced Johnny Jump Ups--squeezed in where we don’t seem to belong. Perhaps we are the lone Christian in our workplace or family, the only person who mentions God’s Word on a controversial Facebook post, or the one whose ideas reach “outside the box” during church committee brainstorms.
God knows we face these situations. In fact, He often places us in them! He blesses us to make us a blessing. God gave the people of Israel His message that they might, by their life and testimony, let the Gentile nations know about the true and living God. It was a hostile, idol-ridden environment. But God wanted them to show the other nations what He could do for those who would trust and obey Him.
God offers us the same opportunities! He wants people to come to know Him! But, as He asks in Romans 10:14, how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? Though we might feel like a lonely Johnny Jump Up, God encourages us to live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to us. (1 Corinthians 7:17)
Wherever God plants us, He goes with us (Matthew 28:20), helping us to shine the Son-light of Jesus, reveal the invasive weeds of the world, and point out what God has done, is doing, and can do. Let’s bloom where we are planted.
Be encouraged!
©2019 Pamela D. Williams
writepam71@gmail.com
