Like A Well-Watered Garden

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (Isaiah 58:11).

Despite my physical limitations I enjoy gardening. Most of it is container gardening and I can only work at it for short amounts of time, but enjoying God’s handiwork in plants and flowers is very satisfying to me.

The above verse is a wonderful word picture for life. Countless times when I wake up in the morning, I feel sun-scorched and dry rather than well-watered and fresh to meet a new day. Whether it is due to another night of limited sleep or just weariness from daily pain, many of us know the feeling of waking up more tired than when we went to bed the night before.

What a different picture a garden represents – alive, green, vibrant, easily swaying with the breezes, and fragrant. God’s Word says we will be like that. Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17 both state that those who trust in the Lord will be like a tree planted by a stream, whose leaves will not wither even when the heat comes. At times I ask, “Lord, how can that be possible?”

God is our bountiful reservoir of life-giving water. His Holy Spirit channels that water into us, renewing and rejuvenating us as it flows. According to God’s Word, He gives all of us this water, no matter how weak, insignificant, or useless we feel on a given day. Somehow today He can refresh us so that we can refresh others - through prayer, physical, or verbal encounters - making our lives gardens of praise for His glory.

Prayer: Father, when I am dry, water the garden plot of my life with Your Holy Spirit. May I feel your presence flowing through me, allowing me to be the fragrance of Christ to others. Amen.

My Water Supply

“They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2:13).

I love birds and enjoy watching them at my feeders and birdbath. One birdbath that I would like to own has a fountain in it, providing continual fresh water for the birds. The flowing water attracts them and is healthy for them as well. Cisterns, like birdbaths, store water. If a cistern’s walls are cracked or broken, it will not hold water. Any water it may hold temporarily becomes tainted with impurities.

There are many Scriptures associating God with water. Obeying His commands brings peace like a river and righteousness likes the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18). Those who trust in Him are like trees planted by a stream, bearing fruit even in times of drought (Jeremiah 17:8). Drinking of His living water brings salvation and eternal life (John 4:14).

Just as my birds need fresh water to drink, I need God’s living water to sustain me, particularly through the droughts which pain and illness bring. Yet many times I dig and drink from the untruths of cracked cisterns whose waters are bitter and unhealthy. I have chosen fear and worry over my circumstances, rather than trusting God and seeking His peace. I have believed that pills are the only answer to my suffering, looking desperately to them for relief. Although medications can be a tremendous blessing, my faith should be in God and not in them. I have placed unrealistic expectations on friends, family, and physicians, forgetting that only God will never disappoint or fail me.

Streams of love, mercy, faithfulness, compassion, joy, power, and strength are continually flowing from the fountain of God. Why would I not choose this fresh and living water rather than the bitter waters of my cracked cisterns? As I spend time in His Word, this water will fill me, satisfy me, and flow from within me (John 7:38).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to choose the life-giving truths springing from the fountain of Your Word, rather than the stagnant waters of my false beliefs. Amen.

Gardened for God

“Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God” (Hebrews 6:7).

I have not had much experience with farming, but I know enough about gardening to see an interesting lesson for myself in this verse.

If the “land” of my life is going to produce crops, it must first be tilled. This involves using sharp tools, such as my pain and illnesses, to dig up and remove anything that would hinder my spiritual growth. I do not enjoy the process of being tilled and hoed, but God knows what needs to be removed, including the idol I sometimes make of good health. He then plants His seeds of perseverance, joy, patience, thanksgiving, faith, and others.

Once God plants these seeds, I face other challenges in order to grow. The rains do not always come in gentle showers but may also come in heavy floods, taking days to absorb. The sun does not always shine with comforting warmth but with an intense and scorching heat. Soft breezes can become fierce gales. Yet God controls the elements in my life just as He controls the elements in nature. He knows that by His power I am capable of producing these crops of fruit for Him, even in weakness and pain. If I allow whatever wind, sun, and rain He sends to bring growth, God will honor and bless that. Perhaps the blessing will not be in the form of my choosing at this moment, but He will bring it.

The Lord has called each of us to bear fruit that will last (John 15:16). The blessing that comes from being obedient to that calling, regardless of the obstacles we face, includes a peace and contentment that the world can neither give nor understand. He will sustain us through any conditions until He harvests us home.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may I willingly allow You to be my life’s gardener. Use my weaknesses to produce fruit for You as I abide in You. Amen.

The Fragrant Sacrifice of Praise through Pain

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him” (II Corinthians 2:14).

I recently re-read the New Testament story of Mary of Bethany (John 12:8), who annointed Jesus with expensive perfume before His death. I began thinking of how much I wanted to offer a gift to the Lord that would be as touchingly beautiful and fragrant as Mary’s was.

I thought of Mary’s gift. It was a sacrifice in several respects. The expense alone was worth a year’s salary. I imagine she had to give up some wants and perhaps even some needs to pay for it. Although our giving may not be of great monetary value, those of us with chronic health problems are continually giving up activities, hopes, desires, and dreams. We can give them up grudgingly and despairingly, or we can yield them willingly and gladly, even though our hearts are breaking in the process.

Mary also faced criticism and misunderstanding from those around her for her extravagant gift. We sometimes face the insensitivities and criticisms of those who do not understand our limitations. We do not need to feel guilty for what we cannot give. God knows our limitations. Praying for others, keeping positive attitudes, and having thankful hearts even as we are suffering are as honoring and significant to Him as the physical acts of service that healthier people may give.

When Mary poured out the fragrant perfume, the aroma spread to all those present. As we offer our willingness and perseverance to praise God through our pain, the fragrance of that sacrifice can reach others. They are able to see God’s faithfulness to His children through all circumstances as the mighty power of His Spirit works in us, bringing us comfort, peace, and strength. Pouring out our lives of suffering as a gift of love to the Lord may be as sacrificial to Him as the gift Mary gave.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me a willing heart to offer my sacrifice of praise through pain. May it become the fragrance of Christ to those around me. Amen.

God Meant It for Good

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"
(Genesis 50:20 NASB).

I currently volunteer with an English for Speakers of Other Languages program. I am thankful that I am physically able to do this despite my health problems. Communication, however, has been quite challenging. I questioned why the Tower of Babel had to result in language barriers. Couldn’t God have used another way to deal with man’s pride and arrogance? Then I realized that because of this language barrier, I have the opportunity to show God’s love and minister to other people, just as missionaries all over the world are doing. Joseph spoke the words in the above verse to his brothers after his years of enslavement and subsequent rise to power in Egypt. His wisdom brought Egypt through a devastating famine. In both of these examples, we see God bringing good out of what appeared to be bad situations.

I applied this concept to my health struggles. Satan has meant them for evil, knowing that they negatively affect my faith, hope, and trust in God. Yet God can use these trials for my good if I will allow Him to do so. This quote expresses that fact: “There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today” (Bishop Glyn Moule). I can also say He is doing it in my life. I am not the same person physically that I was twenty-five years ago, but I am not the same person spiritually either. I have a dependency on God and a depth to my faith that I might not have experienced were it not for my physical problems.

When I become discouraged, believing that my sufferings are victories for the enemy, I need to remember that nothing is ever a lost cause with God. Perhaps He is even using these struggles to help others, just as He did with Joseph.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to embrace the truth that everything You allow in my life is for my good and for Your glory. Amen.

Spring Renewal

“You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self…” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Winter is a challenging season for me.  Cold weather and shorter days affect me physically and mentally.  I am always quite ready for the first signs of spring. The world becomes fresh and new as the cold, brown deadness of winter sprouts into the warm, green aliveness of spring.

Just as springtime brings hope to the earth, this verse brings hope to my soul. My old nature is controlled by many deceitful desires including envy, self-pity, anger, and despair. I am to be made new “in the attitude of my mind”. My mind is sometimes a greater enemy than my body. My mind dwells on past abilities and judgmental attitudes towards others. My mind tells me God is not always good or faithful. My mind says this painful life is too difficult to bear.

I need to renew my mind. God will give me the strength to do this, but it takes willing effort on my part as well. I must constantly monitor my thoughts, evaluating not only where they are coming from but where they are leading me. If they are not Scriptural I need to put them from my mind rather than dwelling on them, allowing them to pull me in a wrong direction.

God’s word says that the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6). I want life and peace. I want renewal.  When I see flowers blooming and grass growing, I want to remember that as a new creature in Christ, my old ways of thinking can be replaced with the new. Spring can happen within me as well as around me.

Prayer: O God, as You fill the earth with the freshness of Your beauty, fill my mind with the freshness of Your thoughts. By Your power may I be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Amen.

My Divine Comforter

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. . . you know him for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16,17).

There are times when I have become very burdened by the trials that some of my fellow believers must endure. As I have prayed for God’s Spirit to sustain them, I have been reminded of the Holy Spirit’s work in my own life, and how pain and illness have brought me a new awareness of and relationship with Him.

In difficult times the Holy Spirit brings an appropriate Scripture song or verse to mind. In moments of extreme pain He brings endurance and encouragement. When grieving the losses of abilities or loved ones, He reminds me that my eternal future will be filled with glorious activity and freedom from partings. When I need to make decisions concerning my health or circumstances, the Holy Spirit gives wisdom and insight, either directly, through others, or through His Word. When growth and change come in to my life, He gives me the assurance that God’s grace will be sufficient to handle them. When I am pulled down into the mire of depression, He prompts me to reach out to others rather than dwelling on myself.

I cannot imagine going through life – particularly one of pain and suffering –without the wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit. Living on this side of the cross, we have His presence on a continual basis. He is a special gift from the Father and the Son to help us through this earthly life until we see our Lord face to face. I am sure His work will not end then, and it will be exciting to see His ministry throughout eternity. For now however, we can rejoice in knowing that wherever we go and whatever we are experiencing, His presence is with us continually.

Prayer: O Lord, thank you that You have not left me comfortless in this life, but have given me the wonderful indwelling of the Holy Spirit living in and through me. Whatever I face in this life, I know that Your Spirit is with me, holding me fast. Amen.