Welcome spring! My favorite time of year.  The dormant trees are bursting with vibrant, green leaves and flowers.  The bulbs in the ground have appeared and are showing their sweet faces.  The birds and wild animals are preparing homes for their young soon to be born.  It seems as though the world around me is waking up from a nice, long nap!

As I was reading this morning and thinking of spring and the gift that it is, I thought, ‘What a beautiful time for us to “wake up” and to ask God for a new and fresh Word.’ Maybe spring is not just a renewal of life in nature, but a wonderful time for a renewal in our spiritual lives as well.

Psalm 51:10 says, “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  The word create, from the Hebrew word “bara”, means “to form by cutting or carving out”, a pruning so to speak.  Just like we have to prune our trees and bushes so they remain healthy and beautiful, so God needs to prune our lives and to cut out those things that are unnecessary and keeping us from relationship with Him.  God is the only One that is capable of “pruning” our lives for His glory.

What are some things that might need pruning in our lives?   Maybe we need to cut out unkind words and actions that have become a part of everyday life. Maybe we have a bad habit or attitude that we know we need to change. Maybe we are once again spending a little too much time on our phones and on social media.  (This is a hard one in todays world!) Do we maybe need to cut out some of the time spent here and use it to spend more time with those that matter, like our kids and husbands?  What about time with God? Is there something that keeps getting in the way of spending time in His Word? Is that something we can adjust or change?

If we want God to create something in us, we need to make sure we are carving out time and cutting out the clutter that keeps our hearts and minds from focusing on Him.  He desires time with us, and He will not let that time go to waste.  Now is the time to open our hearts and ask the Lord “to form” something in our hearts by “cutting out” what He sees as damaged or not growing. Let’s open our hearts so that we will be ready to spring forth with what God wants for us! Let’s enter this spring season with our hearts and minds focused on God and His purposes.

A wonderful devotional I have enjoyed is by Francine Rivers, “Earth Psalms: Reflections on How God Speaks Through Nature”