humble beginnings

tender shoot sprung from parched ground

God’s great irony

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2).

I snapped this photo in the Valley of Elah yesterday. This is the very place where David killed Goliath. The presence of God swept over us as my husband, daughter, and paused to remember the story and great triumph for the people of Israel in that place. We walked up and down the dry river bed, declaring victories for our own lives.

God’s irony inspires me to overcome the obstacles in life that hinder and slow me down–to press on with joy. That he can do much with my, oh so little… amazes me, lifts me to higher realms of vision!