I was given a plant as a gift over three years ago. I was sceptical about my ability to properly care for it, given that I am probably not the kind of person you would find on any long list of gardening awards. I mean, why do plants do this?

All jokes aside, I really do love nature. I love the majesty of the trees, the stunning beauty of the flowers, the delicious fruit and produce of plants. But I am glad that God is in charge of nature and not me.

However, somehow someway, I managed to keep the plant alive during that three-year period. Then something happened and the plant got moved. The move meant I forgot to water it regularly. Lo and behold, one day when I looked at it, the leaves had wilted and turned brown. It looked so sad and hopeless. I thought it was finally the end, that the poor, dry, wilted plant was a goner, dead as a doornail.

Interestingly though, as I looked at that plant, this scripture came to mind, “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant” (Job 14:7-9, NKJV).

I decided to test out the efficacy of the scent of water with my little plant. I trimmed off the brown wilted leaves and gave the plant a scent of water. Okay maybe a bit more than a scent.

And you know what? A few weeks after, I looked at the plant, and would you believe it, new green leaves were growing. Actual bright green leaves. No more brown, miserable-looking leaves. My little plant was sprouting again!

As I thought about that experience, I thought about God. God who caused the plant to grow in the first place. God who wonderfully cares for the wildflowers, for the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:30). Our God who can create rivers, not just a scent of water but rivers. And He can create them in a dry wasteland! Not in a mangrove forest mind you, but in a dry, parched wasteland. As Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) says “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Our God is a God who welcomes the prodigal son with wide open arms, even though others may have long since given up on him. He embraces the prodigal son even when that son is coated in filth, with the stench of swine wafting all over him (Luke 15:11-32). What a beautiful picture of our loving Heavenly Father. He is the same God that says “It isn’t too late. You can still return to me with all your heart. Start crying and mourning! Go without eating. Don’t rip your clothes to show your sorrow. Instead, turn back to me with broken hearts. I am merciful, kind, and caring. I don’t easily lose my temper, and I don’t like to punish” (Joel 2:12-13 (CEV)).

Our God is a God of  unending hope. He does not give up on us. He is a God we can put our hope in, even when we feel like dry tree stumps. Psalm 42:5 (NIV) says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.”

Recently, while going through a difficult period, when I was so close to giving up hope, a word from God was my ‘scent of water’ that allowed me hope again. My circumstances still looked the same. The dry tree stump still looked as dry as ever, but something was different. I had renewed hope. However, just like I had to wait a while for the water to work its miracle and for my plant to blossom again, I know that sometimes there is a waiting period before the results begin to show. Psalm 37:5-7 (NLT) encourages us to “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” In our case, it might not be evil people we worry about, but evil circumstances. Either way, God is telling us not to worry about them or focus on them, but to focus on Him instead. Psalm 27:14 (NLT) also tells us to “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Waiting can be so hard sometimes, and there are times when we may feel that God is slow to act. Mary and Martha thought that Jesus had shown up too late to help their brother, Lazarus (John 11:32, 39). However as we know from verses 43-44, that was certainly not the case. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, proving that even the dead are not beyond God’s reach. As such, no situation is too far gone or too difficult for God to resolve. It is encouraging to know that God’s timing and ways are perfect. It is reassuring to know that it is never too late with God, that the tree stump is never too dry for God to revive. It is comforting to know that God is a God we can hope in. Afterall, He is the source of hope. Romans 15:13 (NLT) says “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” What a comfort!

Not only can God revive the driest of tree stumps, He can restore lost years as well, those years that the tree spent as a dry stump instead of a blossoming tree. Joel 2:25-26 (ESV) says, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” What an encouragement!

This experience also made me realise that we can be the scent of water to someone who is about to give up hope, who feels a drought in their Spirit, whose heart is sick because hope has been deferred again and again (Proverbs 13:12). Why? Because we are carriers of God’s life-giving wells of water. In John 4:14 (NLT), Jesus says “but those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” Other translations use the terms spring of water, well of water, fountain of water. All these things have something in common – they do not just produce water for their benefit, but for the benefit of others. We should not hide our wells, but draw from them for as many that are in need to benefit. What a privilege it is to be a channel of God’s life giving water to others. An added bonus of doing so is that we will receive refreshing as well. Proverbs 11:25 (NLT) tells us that “the generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

I pray that God fills us with complete joy and peace as we hope and trust in Him. May He give us the grace and wisdom to speak wise, apt words in due season, words that bring joy and life to those who feel like dry stumps. I pray that God will send streams of water to revive us when we feel like we are parched, dry, wilted. May we in turn be scents of water that can revive even the driest of tree stumps, bringing God’s joyous, glorious, life-giving Kingdom to Earth. Amen and Amen.

Image source here and here.