“Peace, Peace to him who is far off and to him who is near! Says the Lord; I create the fruit of his lips, and I will heal him [make his lips blossom anew with speech in thankful praise]” Isaiah 57:19
As I traveled up a winding road I have traveled many times before, I had one thing on my mind, the old apple tree at the top of the hill. When I arrived at the top, I was disappointed to find a barren and withered tree. Then I remembered that back in the spring, I had not seen the blooms of a fruit tree. Blossoms on an apple tree are a picture of the fruit to come. The blossoms in the spring give us a glimpse of the fruit that the tree will produce in the fall.
We can learn so much about our lives when we look at the apple tree. God say’s we are the apples of His eye. Once we are a tree, He prunes, waters, and watches us as we blossom and bring forth fruit in due season.
On another day, I traveled up the same winding road and I saw two “trees” standing on the hill. As I got closer to these two “trees”, I saw beautiful blossoms. These two “trees” were a husband and wife around eighty years old, whose life reflected the fullness of the Lord. From their lips came words of thankful praise, their heart was full of joy as they rejoiced in God’s goodness that day. The words that came from their lips revealed a thankful heart. Even in the midst of troubling times, they were truly grateful for God’s blessings in their life. Their spirit was strong, even though they had weathered many storms. Their braches were low with fruitful words you could take home. As I left that day, my basket was full with more fresh fruit than ever before. I had been with two people whose lives truly produced the fruit of the Lord.
We can look at Scripture and be assured that God uses all things, even the broken pieces of our lives. He will carefully hold each piece in His hand until just the right time, and then He uses it for good to help someone else. After we have been healed of painful hurts and then repent for our own sinful responses, our testimony of God’s redemption is complete.