Have you looked outside recently? In most parts of the country there is quite a transformation taking place. Where I live the trees are almost bare. Several weeks ago they began to shed their green robes of summer and don a regal palate of shimmering gold, brilliant orange and fiery red. There is nothing quite like the glint of the afternoon sun radiating through the boughs of an autumn blaze maple in all its finery.
On the side of our house we have a cherry tree. In the spring it is magnificent as the blossoms pop out in pink and white, fluttering in the breeze. In the summer it shades our home with lush foliage. In the late summer the cherries begin to mature and in the fall it makes a lovely picture of orange leaves and red cherries.
The beauty of this tree is that the cherries are small and resilient so that even when all the leaves have gone the way of the compost pile they remain plump and red and they stay on the tree long into the winter. Birds from all around come to light on the branches and get their fill of juicy goodness.
In the dead of winter, long after the lights and feasts and gifts have become a memory the birds can come and find provision. It's not like the provision of summer when there are various fruits from which to get their fill and fat worms and flourishing gardens to raid. But the winter cherries are abundant and they provide the sustenance that the birds need. Each year I see the most unique and colorful birds. Birds I never see during other times of the year. They know that our cherry tree is there and that they can find what they need on it.
Change is inevitable. Seasons change. Lives change. Economies change. Governments change. Opinions change. Children change. Relationships change. But in the midst of change there is a constant, like the cherries on my tree. God. He does not change. He does not falter. His provision is always there.
At different times in our lives His provision is different. Sometimes it is abundant and overflowing. At other times it may seem paltry but if you look a little closer it is exactly what we need. It is rich and deep and filled with goodness that sustains us like nothing else can.
You may currently be in a season of abundance when God is providing for you above and beyond what you could ever even need. But you may also be in a season very much like winter - times are lean, you don't know how you will make it through the dark days you see ahead. But I know without a doubt that God is providing for you. It is not like summer. There is nothing overflowing about it, but it is exactly what you need. He will always provide, in each season, through the changes that surround you. He will lavish you with His provision.
And the LORD, He [is] the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Deut. 31:8
Fear not, for I [am] with you; Be not dismayed, for I [am] your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Is. 41:10
Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Gen. 50:21
For I [am] the LORD, I do not change; Mal. 3:6a
