Bloom in the Garden Where He Has Planted You
by Sue Cronk
Have you ever looked at where you are, and where you hoped to be, and sighed? I certainly have. We make our plans. We set our course. We choose our preferred location. But it is God’s plan which prevails in the end. He knows the end from the beginning and in His wisdom sometimes plants us in a garden we would not have chosen ourselves.
When this happens, we have two choices, moan and groan and try to pull up our roots or choose to bloom where we are planted. The latter is the better choice, but not always the easiest choice to make. Submitting to the hand of God, however, always brings forth good fruit in the end, and this fruit brings glory to our planter.
The saying, ‘Bloom in the garden where He has planted you’ is accredited to Saint Francis de Sales (Bishop of Geneva 1567-1622). He wrote that from this garden God directs us ‘to radiate the beauty and spread the fragrance of His Providence.’ Today’s scripture is referring to oak trees and not flowers, but the same message applies – bloom where you are.
The word ‘bloom’ implies life and growth and beauty. The opposite extreme would be ‘wilt’ and that is never God’s intention for His children. If He can cause rivers to flow in the wilderness, then, surely, He can cause you to bloom in whatever garden He has chosen to plant you in. The key is remaining vitally united to Him (John 15).
Prayer: Father God, help me to bloom, where You have planted me for this season in my life. I want to bring glory to Your name. Amen.
Sue Cronk now lives permanently in Australia and is married to Peter. She is involved with Ellel Victoria and is presently teaching on the Explore Course in Melbourne. Her passion is to encourage God`s people by speaking hope and courage into their lives.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
