Moonflowers
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Have you ever heard of moonflowers? I recently learned about them. They are a species of morning glory. These nocturnal plants fascinate me and beautifully demonstrate our purpose in Christ.
Moonflowers are given their name because they bloom at night and close during the daytime. Typically, these flowers are an iridescent white with a sweet aroma emanating from them, lovely to behold. Morning glories open as the sun begins to rise while moonflowers open as the sun goes down. Both have their own beauty, both have their own purpose, both bloom according to God’s timing, and both bloom to show the glory of God.
When researching moonflowers, I read, “When the sun sets, they open up to an astounding six or seven inch long bloom.”5 This led me to consider: In the darkness, do I open to my greatest bloom, giving glory to God in the night? Or do I stay closed in the darkness? I thought of Jesus’ words encouraging and commissioning us to be the light of the world and to let our lights shine for the glory of the Father (Matthew 5:14–16). We receive our light from Jesus, as He is the Light of the world, and in Him we radiate His light. As the moon stands out against a night sky, as your eye cannot help but be drawn to the moon reflecting the light of the sun, so we are to be like moonflowers blooming in the darkness.
This comparison to moonflowers also reminds me of Jeremiah 17:7–8: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (niv). The tree doesn’t fear heat or drought because its roots draw water from the source. In a similar fashion, when we turn to Jesus as the source of our light, we bloom like flowers who do not fear when the night comes.
Friend, remember, it is when our faith remains planted firmly in Him that we bloom, despite the weather and seasons, day or night. God created us to stand out in the darkness; He created us to be rooted in His grace and His love; He created us to release the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). Like moonflowers, we, too, have our ordained purpose of blooming in the darkness, not fearing when the night comes but bringing the light of Christ to all we encounter.
Lord,
Thank You for the lessons revealed in nature and the encouragement that comes as I consider the moonflower: how it opens in its ordained time, how it blooms despite the darkness, how it diffuses a sweet fragrance crafted by You, how it is dressed beautifully in white against the backdrop of darkness.
Draw me close; help me remain rooted in You. By the grace of Your hand, I am planted and nourished, growing, unfolding, and blooming to display Your light to those walking in darkness. Amen.
Taken from An Untroubled Heart by Kara Stout. Copyright Kara Stout© (April 2025) by Zondervan. Used by permission of Zondervan, www.zondervan.com.
Kara Stout is a writer, wife, new adoptive mom living in Los Angeles, California and author of An Untroubled Heart. Kara writes prayers and devotionals on her social media and has also written devotionals for Her True Worth, a women’s online ministry. Kara has her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University and her master’s degree in counseling from Loyola University Chicago. After walking through a personal medical crisis and the loss of both of her parents to cancer, her life radically changed, and her complete dependency on God for strength and peace became a non-negotiable. Her hope is to encourage women in their faith, pointing them to their Great Comforter and Greatest Companion.
