Oh, glorious summer! My joy is found on my back deck. The pots of flowers are in full bloom. I sit on my chair, hear the birds in the fir trees, and drink in the beauty. It is glorious! That was not the case a couple of months ago. A lot of preparation is necessary to grow my garden. My trowel dug deep, preparing for the summer’s growth. Planting is messy.
GOD’S DIGGING CAN BE PAINFUL
God digs around a lot in my own life. My soul needs intentional preparation, just like a physical garden, in order to produce glorious blooms. Sometimes God’s digging is painful. Hosea 10:12 reads, …break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. There are many weeds entrenched in my heart.
THE HARDENED PLACES IN MY HEART
The Holy Spirit wants to break up the hardened places in my life. The places in the back room of my soul where I grow those sins that fester: anger, bitterness, envy, jealousy, etc. They are weeds which need to be mortified. The Holy Spirit’s shovel is necessary to break the roots that strangle my joy.
A HARVEST OF BEAUTIFUL LIFE
God wants to reap in beautiful harvest. His gardening instructions are clear. Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God! —harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8).
Are you ready for God’s glorious blooms to grow in your life? Ask Him to uproot the weeds and prepare the soil for His harvest. It will be glorious!