DELAY TO BLOOMING

Our cactus in our backyard is blooming. This only happens for a few weeks of the year, sometimes the flower only blooms for a day, and apparently it’s late this year. The beauty of this blooming flower that springs up from the cactus, speaks loudly of creation’s God-given ability to flourish even in the wilderness.

As I looked at the blooming flower that is later than normal, it made me think, “delay is breaking as new seasons come into full bloom”!

Isaiah 35:2a
“Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms, dancing and spinning with delight!”

As I researched, I discovered an interesting fact about the blooming of the desert cactus. It’s impeded by too much water! If there’s too much water and not enough direct sun in the “dry” season, this actually prevents the cactus coming into bloom. It’s the long, dry and arid season, with only the sun beating down, that creates the optimum environment for the cactus to bloom.

This spoke tenderly to my heart. The lack of water to the cactus could be interpreted as harsh attack, and most certainly the lack of water prolongs an already dry, and challenging season. However, it’s from the very place of lack and “dryness”, that beauty blooms. From the lack of water, is birthed the optimum conditions for blooming! For the cactus, what looked like withholding of water, from a different perspective, is actually positioning for flourishing. Without the dry, arid season, there is no desert bloom! The blooming of the cactus can ONLY happen when it’s exceedingly dry. There is a flourishing that is reserved for the persevering ones, that comes from the grit of pushing through the harsh, dry, arid, challenging and unrelenting “stuff”.

The same principle at work in the cactus, is often true for us.

I want to be clear. God does not inflict you with pain to see if you’ll thrive. However, He takes the dry, seemingly unending challenging circumstances, and births something incredibly beautiful…. a rare bloom that ONLY comes from hearts surrendered in places of opposition and delay. It’s extraordinary that not only does the desert sun and all its “lack” not kill off the cactus, but the cactus arises from this same dry season to bloom proudly in the wilderness!

If the blooming cactus could speak, I imagine it saying;
“Desert!… you tried to destroy me and you attempted to steal my life. You did your best to starve me out, kill my hope, and make quit believing my promise would ever come! But desert…………. I’m not quitting!!!! God put the DNA of an overcomer in me! The harsh “heat” of the desert beating down on me, instead of killing me, has birthed resolute fortitude, beauty for ashes, and blooming from challenge. Desert you thought you won, but look again. Today springs forth life in the desert. I am blooming in the place of barrenness! This blossoming bloom you see today is a shout of victory and testimony of God’s miraculous saving power to all who find themselves in dry places. Look at my bloom those of you in the desert! The wilderness is not a place of demise, but of birthing miracles from impossible. This blooming testifies that my Creator, my God, still turns impossible to possible. Look at my blossoming today, because prophesies that you too will flourish and bloom.”

There’s much the desert has to show us. Just as the cactus thrives and even blooms, with only the constancy of the sun, so too will you. Look at Him, even in parched lands, and especially when the season seems long passed its use-by date! Look to Jesus who is your constant who never leaves. And look to the cactus as encouragement and remember, God takes what the enemy meant for harm, and turns it for good. Your delay is breaking, and new beginnings are blooming.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

Our barren desert delays, surrendered to God, birth flourishing. But more than this, there is promise-land fruitfulness and blooming that is reserved for those who thought they wouldn’t make it through the parched wilderness, but with raw grit and mustard seed faith, held on and believed.

You whose held on despite the challenges will not only flourish in this new season, but you will walk in new authority for breakthrough in others. The past season was not a waste of time, God has redeemed the time. You now carry hard fought for beauty and breakthrough, that ONLY comes from standing in the fire and trusting the only hope we have…… Jesus.

You will look back and remember the desert… But when you do, you will see the bloom that came from trusting where you couldn’t see. You will increasingly live from supernatural supply. Breakthrough is yours. It’s blooming time friend!

“Let the desert and dry region be happy; let the wilderness rejoice and bloom like a lily” Isaiah 35:1

Those who know, know…….
What the enemy meant to harm you, God is turning for good.

The blooming cactus in the desert prophesies; “It’s time for new beginnings! New life. New promise. New breakthrough.” Let the wilderness rejoice and bloom!

The delay that threatened to destroy you is breaking, and now springs forth new blooming. Watch as God births blooming in the desert places, and breakthrough into new authority.

Delay is breaking as a new season comes into full bloom. IT’S TIME FOR THE FULL BLOOM OF HIS PROMISE. It’s time to bloom faithful one. It’s time to leave the disappointments of delay and bloom in your promises. God is breathing new life to your heart and promises. It’s blooming time friend.

Check this out:
PS. By God’s prophetic design, I just wrote this word on a plane. As I finished the word, we landed in an airport I’ve never been before. Guess where… wait for it… BLOOMINGTON, Illinois!!!! Yep, BLOOMINGTON! I had forgotten what specific airport we were landing in today until Ben, my husband just told me as we landed. God likes to emphasise a point…. it’s the time of blooming.

Jodie Hughes
pouritout.org