I had been noticing 111, noting it was a transitional time, but weeks later Genesis 1:11 jumped out at me.
“Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.” Genesis 1:11
God said vegetation...and it was so! So this mysterious vegetation word. What does it mean? Deshe, the word used in this verse, began unfolding like an onion in layer upon layer of hope that I was then released to share. This is a time of deshe!
Deshe means grass. Sounds pretty basic and boring. Which is exactly what this season may seem like right now for some. In fact, this word is anything but basic or boring. This specifically can mean FRESH grass, NEW grass, HERB, NEW growth, or TENDER vegetation. The effect is that first little sprinkling of green that springs up from the dirt after winter. The first sign of the new season. In the natural where I live this is happening in our backyard. In the spirit this is happening too.
Grass in the natural can be annual or perennial- either the awakening of last year’s seed or a new thing planted all together.
1. Fresh grass- Things that were NOT SEEN in the most recent seasons (things dormant in seeds) will suddenly spring up. You may see springing up of things that have flourished in previous seasons but have been gone from your life for some time. These things have been coming together BELOW THE SURFACE. Looking at a bed of soil it looks like just dirt. It looks lifeless. It looks messy. Then...the seed that has BROKEN THROUGH underneath sprouts up tall enough to break through the surface. You may already have received a breakthrough but this is the season it become visible. If you see “fresh grass” coming up in your life, pray and seek guidance for this new season of previously sown seeds coming back around.
2. New grass- Similarly, spiritually you’ll notice things that are springing you FOR THE FIRST TIME this year. This reminds me of Isaiah 43:19- "I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don't you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert." When God was seeding the earth with the first VEGETATION (think Garden of Eden) this was the word used. At the time there was no frame of reference. It was truly a new thing. God is planting that which is good and life for you but that is in the context that you haven’t seen before.
3. Herb- a new flavor! Herbs can completely change or enhance the flavor of something. So in this season there will be a “new flavor” to the “same old routine”. Herbs also are used greatly for medicinal purposes, so there is a specific emphasis on HEALING. God is enhancing your spiritual diet, giving you a taste for new things, and giving you a distaste for that which isn’t good for your spirit. In the natural, if you’re feeling called to fast, you may be picking up on this move! Prayer and fasting is being highlight as part of a preparation for the new. (Fasting for both Daniel and Esther was part of a preparation process for high purposes). If you’re in an herb season, it’s a season of healing and preparation for the new that is coming!
4. New growth- New skillsets and abilities are being grown. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself doing something you previously would have said “I’m no good at that.” Or “I could never do that”.
5. Tender vegetation- I read this in my spirit as growing TENDERNESS. There is a tenderness God is growing to promote unity. Reach out to those God is continually putting on your heart to reach out to. Don’t be surprised if people you don’t typically connect with sudden begin contacting you. There is a drawing together God wants to do in the body that you may see on a small scale in your own life.
6. Sprouts as a sign of the end of a stormy season or season of trial- Several times deshe is used it’s used in reference to a time of refreshment or hope- specifically following a time of depletion.
“he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass (Deshe) from the earth.’”. 2 Samuel 23:4
“Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass (deshe)?” Job 38:27
“He makes me lie down in green (deshe) pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3
If you’ve felt “clouded” or like you’re walking through never ending rain, begin looking for sprouts of hope!
7. Grass as a sign of old things coming to completion and being harvested as well as plans of the enemy passing away-
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass (deshe) they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.” Psalm 37:1-2
“When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass (deshe) from the hills is gathered” Proverbs 27:25
“When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass (deshe); the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.” Isaiah 66:14
“So Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,” declares the Lord. “Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain (deshe) and neigh like stallions” Jeremiah 50:11
As you notice “deshe” in your life, seek the Lord on how to cultivate these things. Just like different grasses, there are different instructions from the Lord specific to what He’s growing in you in THIS season of your life. He will teach you the way to grow. “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants (Deshe).” Deuteronomy 32:2