Almonds!

Jeremiah 1:11-12 AMPC

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch or shoot of an almond tree [the emblem of alertness and activity, blossoming in late winter]. Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.

In the Mediterranean countries the almond blossom decorates the trees in a delicate pink blossom at this time of the year.

Speaking to a dear friend in Mallorca, she confirmed that the blossom has arrived on the scene.

The Lord used this almond blossom as a picture to encourage Jeremiah to carry on believing and not to lose faith.

You see the word "shaked" or שקד in Hebrew means almond, but it also has another meaning - it's a verb:

שָׁקַד (šāqáḏ

- meaning "to work diligently", "to labour", "to strive", "to carefully do"

We may think that God is standing back doing nothing in response to our prayers, but the Lord is always active [as He assures in the passage above]. Yet, in the same way you can't force a bud to open without destroying it, we have to wait for God's timing, even if it doesn't suit our plans.

However, He is most diligent when it comes to His Word and His Promises.

Jesus speaking of His Return in Mark 13 says:

Heaven and earth will disappear, but My words will never disappear.

Don't ever make the mistake of treating God's Word as trivial or insignificant:

Psalm 50:16-22

16 But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash. When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. 22 Repent, all of you who forget me