The glorious leaves of fall were tossed in the air as the brutal winds of an early snowstorm bellowed across the mountain ridges. Trees, once graced with shades of crimson, butternut gold and blazing embers now stood stark against the sapphire sky. Branches reached toward the heavens. Some lay broken from the storm. Others rested against nearby branches, too weakened to stretch toward heaven on their own.
As I stared out the window, numb from the stress-filled moments of the day, I heard a song. I leaned into the window pane. A blue blur rose within the charcoal branches of our apple tree. I leaned in closer. And listened. The song became a chatter. It was a bluejay. No...wait...it was THREE bluejays hopping from branch to bare branch. Pops of blue moved throughout the stripped branches that, only days before, were ablaze with the splendor of fall.
My thoughts turned towards the Lord.
Ezekiel 1:26 reads, "And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a Man high above it." Ezekiel was seeing a vision of God. God's throne had the appearance of a sapphire stone. Blue.
Isaiah 54:11 reads, "O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Behold I [the Lord] will lay your foundations with sapphires..." The Lord is speaking through Isaiah about the restoration of Jerusalem. God's covenant of peace is central to the restoration of His people. Our foundation will be sure - built with the beauty and strength of sapphires. Blue.
And finally, Exodus 26:1, "Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them." These curtains billowed at the eastern entrance to the outward court of the Tabernacle. These curtains also hung within the Tabernacle to conceal the magnificent entrance to the inner court - the Holy of Holies. Passing through these curtains took the child of God, symbolically, from the physical realm of the world that consumed them into the Presence of a Holy God that loved and cared for them.
El Elyon, the Most High God, utilized the color blue - sapphire, to be exact - to draw the thoughts of His people towards Him. It is the color of the heavenlies. Our eyes look up to behold a sapphire blue sky and we are reminded of the One True God.
Lost in my thoughts, God interrupted and taught me a beautiful, visual Truth: Even though the apple tree was stripped of its splendor because of the fierce winter storm, evidence of God moved freely among the barren branches. So it is with our lives. The glorious joy of laughter may be gone for a season, but God's Presence is still with me. Always.
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you" ~ Deuteronomy 31:6.
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