Spiritual Gardening

Our lives are created by God to be rather like a garden. A garden is meant to be alive with growth and each garden tells a picture. There are no two gardens alike because trees, plants and grass are alive, and each grow entirely differently. A garden is designed to have needs and when those needs are met, it blossoms and comes into its destiny. The gardener attends to the needs of the garden and a good gardener goes beyond just the needs of the garden. A good gardener holds a vision for the garden and wants to bring it to its full potential not allowing anything to steal or to stop the journey of growth and eventual maturing.

However, the climatic conditions can’t be controlled. The weather could be too dry or it could be too wet. In some countries it could be the problem of the cold and the frost and, without proper protection, some plants would die. At other times, weeding is necessary to remove those things which would take away the nutrients of the soil or remove the kind of weeds which would bind themselves around healthy plants and choke them.

Whichever way we look at it, a garden is dependent upon its gardener. However, the gardener is also dependent. The gardener is dependent upon the Creator. The Creator has put in place physical and spiritual laws without which the world could not exist. Without understanding and obedience to these laws, chaos will result. The gardener has no control over gravity, the climate or weather. The garden must be tended according to the laws of the universe.

We are the gardeners of our lives. We’re created to watch over our lives and to live them according to the master’s laws. In doing so we’ll find that the garden of our life becomes one of order, fruitfulness and beauty. Our hard work of watching over it will produce a reward in due season.

Many of us feel that we’ve sown our garden with many tears. We’ve come up against climatic conditions which are harsh. We’ve struggled with the hard ground where stones and weeds abound. We’ve laboured in areas where there’s seemingly been little fruitfulness and yield. Many times we may have felt that the work of our particular garden was too great.

Yet, the Creator’s law is at work. We may not be able to see it but the tears of struggle and pain are having their effect. They're producing something underground which is taking root and shape. One day the tears will bring a crop and the crop will produce a harvest, even though we can’t see it yet, and indeed we may not see it in our own lifetime. The sowing part of gardening is the most crucial part. The ground in itself can produce nothing until something is sown.

Let’s ask our Heavenly Father today to take our tears and to sow them into beauty in the ground of our lives and bring forth a good yield. Let’s do our part and be vigilant against the forces which would strangle the good seed which is sown so that it can’t grow and blossom. The enemy wants to use the weeds (sin) of our life to rob us. Negativity, self pity, ungratefulness, self idolatry want to take root and fill our garden (life) so that the beauty cannot be seen and the garden cannot be fruitful.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please help me to identify the weeds of my sinful nature and to put the axe to the root. Help me to allow Your law of sowing and reaping to take place in my life so it can become the garden of fruitfulness You designed it to be and in due season I will reap with shouts of joy. This is Your promise to me today. Amen.