This time of year continually proves to be one of my favorites. Seeing the beautiful flowers and greenery bloom after a cold and lifeless winter reminds me of how everything in creation bows to God’s authority. This is the time of year when we get back outside to work in our gardens and flower beds so that we can enjoy their beauty as well as reap the blessings of the harvest they bring. The Bible is full of gardening analogies because the lessons farmers and gardeners learn when tending to their crops can often be applied to our everyday walk with Jesus. So, grab your trowels, gloves, and shears and let’s apply the lessons of our backyard gardens to the work we can do in our spiritual gardens.
Before I begin, I’m adding a disclaimer. Just as I am not a master theologian and do not claim to know everything about God and His Word, I am not a master gardener and do not claim to know everything about gardening. But I enjoy tending to my flower beds and Scott and I have begun the process of getting our vegetable garden ready. So, although there are more knowledgeable people on the subject of gardening, I hope you’ll stick around for some lessons I’ve learned.
God’s Word says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15)
From the beginning, we see that a garden takes work and requires care, just like our spiritual walk with Jesus. It’s going to take time, energy, and effort. But the things in life that are worth having usually do require all of these things!
The first and arguably the most difficult step in caring for a garden is tilling the ground. It takes a lot of effort and work to break up the hardened ground and turn it into usable soil. Even if you use a motorized tiller, it’s still going to take some effort. But tilling exposes all the obstacles that will hinder the success of the seeds, things like stones and old roots, so it has to be done. When we first come to Christ or if we start recognizing bad patterns in our life, the process of tilling the soil of our hearts needs to be done.
Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, God, know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
King David asked the Lord to search his heart and reveal to him if there was anything offensive or displeasing to God in him. I know when I ask Jesus to search me, He is likely to find some boulders, not just stones and old dead roots, in my heart that need to be pulled right out. Unfortunately, it can be a painful process, but Jesus is right there reminding us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. When our hearts are tilled, it makes room for God’s living water to flow through and reach the seeds He has planted.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
After the tilling is done, the next step is planting. Now, if you’ve ever looked at the outside of a packet of seeds, you know that the seeds don’t look anything like the picture. How can these tiny little unattractive grains turn into such lovely flowers or grow into a huge pumpkin? On top of being nothing to look at, seeds aren’t worth anything until they die. A seed has to break open and basically die so that it can grow into what you’re looking for. In the same way, we can choose to be like a seed that’s planted but never grows into anything if we decide to remain independent of God, holding onto our heart and never becoming more. Or we can turn our heart over to the Master Gardener who cares for it like a seed, allowing it to die so that He can give it abundant life. When we hand our heart over to the Lord (a choice we have to make daily) we are dying to self and beginning our season of abundant growth.
The third step in caring for your garden is to make sure the seeds have enough water and sunlight, because no matter how good the soil is or how carefully you plant the seeds, the seeds will not grow without water and sunlight. Watering takes intention. You either need to fill up your watering can, or turn on the sprinklers, or get out the hose; whatever you choose requires intentionality. In the same way, we need to be intentional about being "watered" and nourished with the Word of God. We need to intentionally turn to it for our daily life because just like seeds, we can’t survive on just an occasional “sprinkling” of Scripture. If we’re not watered by God’s Word, we’ll end up in a drought and begin reaching for anything that can “quench” our parched souls.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
We also need to make sure seeds have enough sunlight. Sunlight is the source of their energy; plants need sunlight to start the process of photosynthesis so they can produce what they’re supposed to. Did you ever notice that plants turn towards the light? Think of my favorite, a sunflower which reaches and grows towards the light. Just like the flowers, we can turn towards Jesus who is our Light and will provide the strength and energy we need to keep going and growing.
Scripture says, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” (John 3:21)
And again in John 1:4-5, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Where there is no light, there is no life.
The final step in gardening is the harvest. (I know there is more to the process of gardening, and to our spiritual walk, but for now, we’ll stop here.) Harvest is the time we get to reap the rewards of our hard work and all the waiting. It’s the evidence of our efforts. Now, in our spiritual walk, there may be times you don’t get to see the evidence of what you’ve prayed for, but it doesn’t make the waiting pointless. Waiting for the harvest takes time and patience, a lot of time in prayer and in communion with God. But during those difficult times of waiting, we have hope for the harvest. Maybe you’re waiting on a loved one’s salvation, a breakthrough in your own spiritual life, or overcoming an addiction. But never lose hope because when the Lord calls forth the harvest, the fruitful season, we are reminded once again of His power and authority.
Somehow, far beyond my understanding, God is working everything for good, even when we don’t see how it’s possible. So, even when the harvest seems unlikely and you’re tempted to throw in your gardening gloves, don’t give up or lose hope. Dig in and till the soil of your heart, plant the seeds and let them die to self, water them and give them the light of God’s Word. Then, when you’ve done the work, you can wait expectantly for the harvest.
In Christ,
Becca Drumheller
