I was once given a beautiful orchid from my friend when he learned of my pending divorce. Unfortunately I didn’t know how to care for it, nor was I in the frame of mind to care for it. Sadly, I don’t think I watered it once and as a result, it died pretty quickly.
Last summer, I went into the store and saw another beautiful orchid, and decided to buy it. I had determined that I wanted to have fresh flowers in my home, and decided that having a plant might be less expensive. I bought it, and there were instructions. I needed to put 3 cubes of ice on a weekly basis. Ok.. I think I can handle that. I diligently iced my orchid, and the petals remained for about 2 months. Yay! For me, that had been a true success. But, what do I do now that the beautiful petals are gone and all that’s remaining are the leaves? As a new gardener, I realize that I have to keep putting ice on it. So after the initial two months of petals, I’ve still had to diligently remember to put 3 cubes of ice on it every week, even though all I can see are the green leaves.
So it has been with my faith journey. Hebrews 11:1 NIV states ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ Even though I don’t know whether the petals will regrow later this year, I have to keep faith that when the time comes, they will grow, but in the meantime, I need to keep doing what’s necessary to keep it alive. So it is in my own life. I may not see results right away when I’ve been asking God for something, but I need to continue in the expectation that when the time becomes right, He will answer. The one thing I know for sure is that He hears and and answers. It has become so evident in my daily conversations that it leaves me amazed.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for our growing faith each day. Help us to realize that while we may not see things happening with our physical eyes, that you are working on our behalf.