The Gardener

A few years ago, I was sitting in church when we had a guest speaker come in. He was talking about missions in Africa. He talked about how the Lord had provided a more affordable way to feed so many people by sending packets of vegetable seeds so these communities can grow their own food. It was then that I felt a nudge in my spirit about starting a garden ministry through seed packets. At first I laughed at the thought, but I knew I had to obey because I knew if this was going to work that it had to be God. I sure knew nothing about planting gardens. I couldn’t even keep a flower alive.

So until spring time arrived, I took to friends who gardened, I took to YouTube and watched dozens of videos. So that when spring arrived I had at least somewhat of an idea of what I was doing. So, I started from seed and I planted inside my home under fluorescent lighting until it was time to put them in the ground. I learned how to prune them as they were going through different stages in life. Once they were off full maturity they were ready to be harvested and divided among families. 

The very first year of gardening was so very fruitful, yet so very physically and emotionally draining.

You see, God was stretching me in an area I’ve never been and as you know being stretched can be very painful, mostly in areas you’ve never stretched before. The same can be said for us in the spiritual. In order to come out stronger and wiser, we must go through some challenging situations. I was watching one of my favorite speakers this morning, he was talking about turning a negative into a positive, when I began to see this visual in my spirit of Jesus as a gardener. You see, during the different phases of gardening you always have to start with planting the seed, and in order for the seed to grow you must plant it in soil. Soil is a mixture of dirt, manure or some kind of compost. So before a vegetable can be harvested in full maturity it must be planted in some kind of rotten soil.

The same can be said about our spiritual lives. In order to become mature in Christ, to walk fully in the fruits of the spirit, we must be seeded in some rotten situations. For example: In order to learn how to operate in kindness you have to endure unkind situations. Just as we as gardeners plant seeds in dirty soil in order to harvest a ripe and beautiful vegetable, God must plant us in some dirty situations in order for us to become more mature and beautiful. Just as our Father took us from ashes and made us beautiful, He will sometimes allow situations to occur that will teach us how to operate in Self Control, Love, Kindness and faithfulness. So in order to operate fully in the fruits of the spirit, you must learn how to gain access to those fruits by walking through the mud.

I myself have been walking through a lot of mud over this last year or so. Without Christ that mud would have quickly turned into quicksand and I would have sunk. I know God’s timing is perfect and all of His promises are Yes and Amen, but I sometimes wonder if he’s operating on Pacific Standard Time. When I was watching this speaker this morning, he reminded me that in the eyes of God, one thousand years is a day. So just when I think waiting 10 years for His promise to come forth, I must remember that my ten years is probably only an hour to Him. I know His word will never come back void.

The fruit that the Lord has been trying to grow in me has been faithfulness. I know, that I know, that He is good and His ways are always right, but I get weary in the waiting and I allow the seed in me to warp and not spout the fruit God intended. That has not only been my weakness, but it can and will allow us to walk in instability. God clearly warns us of being double minded and unstable in our ways. James 1:3-8 Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

We must know that unfaithfulness, lack of self-control, impatience is all sin. Now, don’t miss understand me and think as believers that we never have weak moments because we all do, but as a very good friend once taught me. It’s okay to experience those moments, but it’s not okay to stay there and make that one moment a lifetime. We must allow the seed that God has planted in us to grow, and in order for that to happen, we must eat and drink of what the Gardner chooses to nourish us with. Our nourishment always comes from the Son through the word of God. John 4:34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Now is the time to figure out which seed God is trying to plant in you and seek Him first to nourish that seed. Pray often and always turn your negative into a positive by being a blessing to someone else in doing the will of God while you are being pruned and watch the seed that struggled through the dirt become Beautiful and Fruitful. If one tomato seed can produce dozens of tomato’s, imagine what God can produce through you and how many lives you can change through Him.

                                                                                           Aleeza

                                                                                         2/27/2017