Grass Withers and Flowers Fall

Isaiah 40:6-8 

6 “A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All the people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.  7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  8 The grass withers and flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Our neighbor went on a vacation in the middle of summer and we were asked to take care of her house. She showed us around and gave us a list of things to do when she was gone, one of which was to water the plants inside and outside the house. If she was gone for a weekend everything would be OK, all we would have to do is water the plants once. But being gone for a week is whole different story. If you forget to water the plants for a couple of days then they all start looking dry and everything starts to wilt. Thankfully, watering them perked them up even after a dry spell.

Verse 8 appears on nearly every Bible cover and memory verse.  “The grass withers and flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”  This verse inspires all of us to understand that God’s Word is not momentary.  It is not dreamed up by men to suit some time in history.  It is not a political narrative to sway people into thinking a certain way.  No, it is the infallible, eternal, unchanging living Word of God that pierces the hearts and minds of men and women to follow His ways.  Great stuff.  If you have a house with a yard and garden then you can draw the comparison of the grass withering and the flowers falling because you see it every year. 

For the English majors, verse 8 is the last part of a quote from God to Isaiah, not a quote by itself, but the end of one.  I wrote the whole quote above, verses 6-8.  It starts with a voice telling us to cry out and naturally the question is raised, “what shall I cry?”  The Lord tells us that people are like grass and their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. Wait!  You mean verse 8 is about the people withering and their faithfulness falling?  I thought it was a good news verse about how God’s word endures forever like grass and flowers wither and fall but His word stands for eternity.

That sounds good until you realize he is comparing you to the grass and flowers that wither and fall.  In the words of teenagers, “wow!”  Right when I read this, the Lord wanted me to stop and read it again. Then it hit me.  The grass does not grow where it is not watered and the flowers don’t bloom where someone has not taken care of the ground. 

Take a drive and look at people’s yards.  There are super impressive yards and, well, not so impressive yards.  The not so impressive yards tell us that the person living at that house really does not care how the yard looks at all.  In fact, in some cases it would seem that the yard has been replaced by junk and trash.  I hope you are starting to see the picture.  The more time and effort we put into getting to know the Lord, the greener the grass of our lives will be and more flowers will bloom. 

Verse 8 is a metaphor to remind us to put our hope and trust in the Lord instead of people and human faithfulness.   Your life could be in the middle of a hot wind blowing everything around and scorching your plans.  Maybe the Lord is trying to tell you something? People wither and fall away and their faithfulness will fall so today, start putting your hope in the Lord. Let Him blow away the things in your life that will wither and fall.  Build your house on the rock of God’s Word.

Prayer: Father, so long we seem put our trust in things we can feel, touch, and see. Relying on our senses to govern our forward progress. Instead, I pray today that we put our trust in you and you alone. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Lord, build our faith in you. Put us in situations to grow our faith. In Jesus name, amen.