Issue 719 – Jump Ups – April 19, 2022

If you have been reading Gleanings for any time now (and some of you go back to the early days of the first incarnation of Gleanings), you will know that one of my favourite flowers is Johnny-jump-ups. 

Jump-ups have pretty little violet and yellow flowers and have a habit of self-seeding and popping up where least expected. I have seen them out in all the garden centres of late, so I hope to be seeing them pop up in unexpected places soon.

Johnny-jump-ups are Viola tricolora, a small, hardy member of the viola family sometimes called heart’s ease or wild pansy. My reading tells me these violas were originally from Spain and brought to North America as a garden flower, but they liked it here and have spread.

Jump-ups are small, and many people never take the time to see or appreciate them. Yet, if you look even a little bit, they are hard to miss. They almost scream out. “Look! We are here!”

Wherever heart’s ease originally came from, I always find them a blessing. Cheerful, bright and always a delight, jump-ups give me a special reminder of God when I see them. God pops up in the most unexpected places and ways and delights me when He appears.

We will never see all of God on this side of glory. He is just too much for our finite minds to comprehend. That does not mean He stays hidden. You have to be willfully blind and deaf to miss Him.

He is visible through His creation. His fingerprints are on the stars and the mountains. His handiwork is in the plants and animals. His Spirit is in the birth of a new baby or a child’s laughter. You can hear Him in a kind word or a good song. His touch is in a cooling breeze on a hot day or a warm breeze on a cold day.

His presence is hard to miss. All He has created seems to cry out, “I am here for you! Look for me!”

The Scriptures tell us that we are without excuse for not seeing Him.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 

Romans 1:18-23

Even the heavens declare His glory. 

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun. Psalm 19:1-4

I believe that you have to be willfully blind not to see God in creation. People go to great lengths to rationalize the fact that they do not see the Lord in His handiwork. I know because I was one of those people for half my life.

The Lord, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is never far away from us. He is always within prayer range and always within our sight should we choose to look. For the believer, The Lord He is even closer. He dwells in the hearts of His people.

Until next time, open your eyes and ears. God is right there in front of you.

Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

Be blessed. 

Kevin.

Gleanings From The Word.

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)

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All contents are © 2001, 2022 K. F. “Kevin” Corbin and Gleanings From The Word.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV). Spelling modified to Canadian English as required. 

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