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Fragile Flowers and Eternal Words · Traveler’s Tales

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  There are few sights more beautiful than a field of wildflowers
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  in full bloom. For a brief season, the hillsides
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  come alive with brilliant colors. What was once dry
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  and barren becomes a landscape of extraordinary
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  beauty. But that beauty carries a sobering reminder:
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  the flowers that seem so full of life today may
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  be gone tomorrow. And tucked away in that simple
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  observation is a truth that every one of us
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  needs to remember: life is beautiful,
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  but life is brief. Thousands of years ago, the prophet
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  Isaiah looked at the flowers of the field and used them
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  to illustrate one of the most important important lessons we could ever learn
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  about life, eternity, and the unchanging Word
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  of God. Welcome to Traveler's Tales, produced by Enjoying
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  the Journey. I'm Greg Dowdy. We explore the places,
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  people, and customs of the Bible, discovering how even the smallest
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  details of Scripture can reveal timeless truths for our lives
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  today. We're grateful for the research and contributions
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  of our friend John Buckner, who helps us better understand the
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  historical and geographical setting of these biblical accounts.
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  Today, our journey takes us to the beautiful hillsides of Israel,
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  where the flowers of the field remind us of something that will outlast
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  every season of life. In Isaiah 40:6-8,
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  the prophet writes, the voice said, cry! And he
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  said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass,
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  and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of
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  the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
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  because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the
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  people is grass, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
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  but the word of our God shall stand forever.
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  To appreciate the beauty of these words, we need to understand
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  something about the land in which they were written. For much of the year,
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  the landscape of Israel can appear dry and barren.
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  The hillsides are brown, the ground is hard,
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  and the fields seem almost lifeless. But when
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  the winter rains arrive, everything begins to change.
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  Grass springs up from the earth.
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  Wildflowers begin to bloom. Hillsides that appeared
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  lifeless suddenly become covered with color. One of the most striking
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  flowers found in Israel is the red poppy.
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  In the springtime, these beautiful flowers can blanket entire
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  fields, creating brilliant displays of red
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  against the green countryside. It's a breathtaking sight.
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  But there's something remarkable about these flowers— their beauty doesn't
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  last. Individual poppy blossoms may last only
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  a few days, And as the rainy season gives way
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  to the dry heat of summer, the once beautiful landscape
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  begins to change. The grass withers. The flowers
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  fade. The brilliant colors disappear.
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  What seems so alive and beautiful was
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  only here for a season. And that is precisely
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  the picture Isaiah wants us to see. He writes,
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  all flesh is grass, and the goodliness thereof is
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  as the flower of the field. In other words, we are
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  the flowers. Our lives, with all their beauty,
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  accomplishment, strength, and opportunities, are temporary.
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  There is a season when we are young and strong,
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  a season when we are busy building our lives,
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  raising our families, pursuing our dreams,
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  and making our plans. And somewhere along the
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  way, we begin to imagine that life will always be this way.
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  But the years pass more quickly than we expect.
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  Children grow up. Strength begins to fade.
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  Familiar faces disappear.
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  Seasons of life that once seemed as though they would last
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  forever become memories. The Bible reminds
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  us in James 4:14, for what is your
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  life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little
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  time and then vanisheth away.
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  Now, that is not a message intended to rob us of
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  the joy of living. It is a reminder to recognize
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  the value of the life God has given us. The brevity
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  of life ought to make us more intentional about how we live it.
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  Every day is a gift from God. Every opportunity
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  to serve him is precious. Every moment we have with
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  those we love is worth cherishing. And the things that matter
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  most are often the things we are most tempted to
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  neglect. There's another fascinating detail in Isaiah's
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  description. He says, the grass withereth, the flower
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  fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon
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  it. The Hebrew word translated spirit
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  is ruach, a word that can also mean wind
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  or breath. Now think about that picture.
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  A flower may stand beautifully in the field,
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  but it cannot withstand the changing seasons.
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  The same wind that blows across the countryside reminds us
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  just how fragile life can be. And the word
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  Isaiah uses directs our attention to something greater
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  than the flower itself. Our lives are in the hands
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  of the God who gave us life. We may make
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  our plans and arrange our schedules, but ultimately, every breath
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  we take is a gift from Him.
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  Yet Isaiah does not leave us with the fading flowers.
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  In fact, the most encouraging part of this passage comes at the very end: The
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  grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but
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  the word of our God shall stand forever. What a contrast!
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  The flowers fade, God's word remains.
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  Generations come and go, but God's truth does
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  not change. Kingdoms rise and fall,
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  nations change, cultures shift,
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  human opinions come and go, but the word of God
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  stands forever. And there is a wonderful lesson
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  here for every follower of Christ. Don't build your
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  life around things that cannot last. Build your
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  life upon the word of God that will never fail.
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  We live in a world that places enormous value on things that
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  are temporary. We spend our lives pursuing success,
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  accumulating possessions, protecting our reputations,
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  trying to hold on to the things that time will eventually take
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  away from us. None of those things can provide the lasting
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  security our souls need. But the
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  promises of God are different. When everything around us is
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  changing, his word remains true. When circumstances
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  are uncertain, his promises remain sure.
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  When our strength begins to fail, His faithfulness
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  never does. And when we face the reality of
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  death, his word points us to the one who
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  conquered it. The Apostle Peter returned to Isaiah's words
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  centuries later in 1 Peter 1:24-25.
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  Peter wrote, for all flesh is as grass,
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  and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
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  The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away,
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  but the word of the Lord endureth forever.
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  And this is the word which by the gospel is preached
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  unto you. Did you catch that final statement?
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  Peter connects the enduring word of God with the message
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  of the gospel. The greatest hope we have
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  is not found in trying to make this life last forever.
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  It is found in the eternal life that Jesus Christ
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  offers to everyone who will trust him. And that
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  brings us to one final picture from this scripture.
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  The Bible begins with the Spirit of God moving upon the
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  face of the waters at creation, and near the very end
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  of the Bible, we hear this beautiful invitation in Revelation 22:17:
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  And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that
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  heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
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  come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of
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  life freely. What a wonderful invitation!
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  The same God who created life offers eternal
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  life through his Son Jesus Christ.
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  And unlike the flowers of the field, the life he gives
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  will never fade away. Perhaps today you are enjoying
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  a wonderful season of life. Be grateful for it.
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  Use it for God's glory. Don't take it for granted.
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  Perhaps you are walking through a season of change,
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  watching things you once depended upon begin to fade.
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  Take courage, because the God whose word stands
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  forever is still faithful. Or perhaps
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  you have never personally placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
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  There is no greater decision you could make than to
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  receive the gift of eternal life that he freely offers. One day,
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  the flowers of this earth will have bloomed for the last time.
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  The seasons of our lives will have come and gone,
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  and all the things we thought were so important will be left
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  behind. But God's word still will
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  be standing, and those who have trusted Christ will be with
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  him forever. So the next time you see a
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  beautiful flower blooming in a field, take a moment to admire
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  its beauty and then remember the lesson it teaches: life
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  is brief, eternity is real, and the word
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  of our God shall stand forever.
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  Thank you for joining us today on Traveler's Tales. My prayer
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  is that today's journey will encourage you to treasure
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  the time God has given you and to anchor your life more firmly
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  in the truth of His Word. There is so much more to discover
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  in Scripture, and we would love to help you continue that journey.
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  Be sure to visit us at etj.bible,
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  where you'll find Bible teaching, devotional resources, and tools
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  to encourage your daily walk with the Lord.