“For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Isaiah 61:11
Growth
Growth elicits two very contrasting images in my mind:
One of pain, stretching beyond current capacity, ripping, rending, that will later be repaired. My brain feels risk in that. What if my flesh bleeds out before being repaired? What if my capacity were not meant to be exceeded? What if the repair leaves scar tissue that throbs for years? What if…
The mistrusting bunny trail of “what if” leads down a snake hole of death, marred by some previous pain and some hypothetical never-to-happen, slippery-slope lies.
The other image of growth though-what a powerful, peaceful, purposeful vision in which to reside!
The Hebrew word for growth is defined as sprouting, bringing forth, springing up. Oh what a beautiful image of spring renewal after a winter of dormancy. Soil softens with warm weather and life and beauty spring up revived, renewed. The same springing forth of vegetation in the Garden of Eden is used for righteousness springing forth in Isaiah 61, which is the lens for the remainder of this post.
The Soil
Our human hearts are the soil for spiritual growth, and the condition of our hearts influences the form that growth takes. Hardened hearts, like stone, require rending, hewing, scraping, like diamonds that are raw being refined. The process for growth becomes like the firing process of precious metals, fired to burn away the dross.
Soft hearts crumble like fresh soil giving way to the seed erupting with life, pressing through to bear flowers and fruit. Soft hearts mold like clay, formed into use by the master artist’s hands. Oh-yes-pottery also requires firing to become sturdy and useful, not crumbling and crashing at a breath of wind.
Both firings of metal and clay turn crude, mushy potential into beautiful, purposeful products. Likewise, our hearts are fired through circumstances that lead us into a winter season of rest and dormancy in preparation for vibrant spring growth.
I ask myself, “Do I trust my Maker to form me in seasons of growth or do I resist, failing to yield my will, forcing a firmer refinement process?” Then my prayer becomes, “God, keep my heart soft. Silence fear. Grow trust. Don’t leave me blind. Heal me from within.”
Repentance-Hebrew
Sometimes growing looks like letting go.
In The Red Fern Grows, the boy needed a raccoon skin, so he set a trap by boring a hole in a log, dropping a shiny washer in the bottom, and hammering nails in the side that would allow an open hand through, but a closed fist would not. He considered it very unsportsmanlike but used it so that he could train his dogs to help him hunt. When a raccoon saw the glistening metal, he slipped his hand through the nails and clutched it in his first. To escape, all it needed to do was open his hand, let go of the washer, and slip his hand back between the nails, but all night, it wrestled upward, inflicting pain by thrusting the nails into his fist.
How often are we like the raccoon, clinging to what is shiny, inflicting our own pain, caught in a trap of sin, placing our trust in ourselves, money, or other people. That washer at the bottom could be pride, materialism, addiction, gossip, any sin. And we wrestle with our own desires rather than relinquishing our hope in a shiny promise of nothingness, and we wait, caught in a trap of sin, for the world to consume us.
Letting go of sin and pride looks like letting go, changing our minds, repenting.
But what is this word repentance? Our world disdains admitting shortcomings and owning up to our sin. It attempts to redefine truth rather than repent. It clings to what is shiny and accuses the nails for our painful entrapment.
In Hebrew, the word for repentance means “to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted.” It involves sighing, regretting, and going another direction. As with Job, this repentance is often associated with dust and ashes (Job 42:6) Google ai overview explains this cultural practice: “Dust and ashes in repentance symbolize deep humility, mortality, and brokenness before God, highlighting human frailty and the need for divine mercy.”
This repentance, this sighing, this changing of the mind, is a crushing of self, an acknowledgment of human frailty, a desperation for our sovereign, righteous God.
Repentance-Greek
Repentance has an equally powerful meaning in the New Testament where Greek is used rather than Hebrew. Both languages contain nuances that are powerful in translation. Repentance involves changing one’s mind and thinking differently afterward. The roots, meta and noeō literally mean “with understanding”. These roots imply that a new understanding leads to a change of mind and a change of action.
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus declaring “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2). Likewise, when Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to teach and heal, “they went out and preached that people should repent” (Mark 6:12).
We are called to change our minds from our natural sinful nature as God’s kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) and righteousness in Christ.
Repentance into Growth
In my life, growing in God’s timing looks like: Grief, Repentance, Rebuilding, Renewal, and Sprouting up into an oak of righteous.
Though I have grieved countless friends who have entered the Kingdom ahead of me, I choose to change my mind away from the deception of sin, away from my own limited understanding. I choose to trust in God’s faithfulness, in His goodness, in His redemption, in His ability to transform what the enemy meant for evil into good. I choose to silence the lie that deep love leads to fruitless, permanent pain and marring.
Unlike the raccoon, I choose to open my fist that clenched shiny, fearful pride. I choose repentance so that I can grow in God’s timing.
I choose to love in spite of grief. I choose to love deeply because that growth is what Jesus calls me to.
PS. blueletterbible.org contains many resources that help us understand the Hebrew and Greek translations of the Bible.
We want to thank Mary Coleman for sharing this post.
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