Honor for Divine Message Bearers

Honor for Divine Message Bearers

by Tina Yeager

“‘At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,’
says the Lord”

(Zephaniah 3:20, NIV).

 

Once brilliant blue as the Carolina skies overhead, our hydrangeas wilted under winter’s cruel hand. Ice robbed the leaves and flowers of color, stripping their joy-centered purpose. Spectral gray bush remnants haunted the perimeter of our home until my husband cut them to stumps. Bare sticks marked their root mounds in the flower beds and might have tempted me to grieve a lost source of glory.

But I trusted in the resurrection process.

My writing journey often suffers from profound setbacks. My fingers toil in the black earth of words, praying for Christ to radiate life into dormant, little idea seeds. After editing weedy phrases and spraying away the biting distractions, inspirational prose might sprout promise for a while. But an icy front soon attacks my purpose. The season of blue sky hopes never seems to survive the chill of rejection, market shifts, or other failures.

I believed my last published project might flower into blessings for others, but circumstances froze the color from its blooms. As I survey the damage of a chilling season, the gloomy appearance of my situation could tempt me to lose hope. I could wash my hands of this toil over words. Or believe in the promise of the Redeemer who calls me to plant in this new season.

Whether or not my next manuscript grows to flourish in visible ways, I can rejoice in this season of cultivating with my Savior. He remains my ultimate reward. I don’t have to grieve over lost honor when I choose to trust the resurrection process.

I might invest time and energy to bear divine messages without experiencing the result I hoped to reap. But no matter what the circumstances seem to destroy, nothing can prevent Jesus from fulfilling his promises. He restores our honor beyond any fortune we deserve and those rewards last for eternity.

Father, thank you for sustaining me in all seasons. Help me to persevere through discouragements and setbacks. Shine upon all of us to nurture us with the joy of your faithful presence even when the landscape appears barren. Amen.

 

Award-winning author, speaker, licensed counselor, and life coach, Tina encourages audiences to fulfill their potential. She offers writing workshops through Serious Writer Academy, hosts the Flourish-Meant podcast, and is head mentor with Word Weavers International. Beautiful Warrior, her book on women’s esteem is available through New Hope Publishers. To connect with her, visit tinayeager.com.