The Watered Garden

"And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:11

"They shall come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the bounty of the Lord- Over the grain and the new wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; and their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again." Jeremiah 31:12

It is spring! We've had plenty of rain in this region. Things in my yard are looking lush and green. The weeds are sprouting quite rapidly, too. As I spend time in my various gardens pulling the weeds, I can't help but think about analogies to our Christian lives. The weeds being the things that are ugly; things that damage or hinder our growth as God's children. We all struggle with such things. I'm thankful that God is the Master Gardener. All that He does, He does to perfection.

When God created the world, He saw fit to make human beings. He placed the 1st man in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 1:31 says "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good...." It was perfect! The Garden of Eden must have been more beautiful than anything that we've ever had the opportunity to look upon. Perfect beauty. No weeds! No sin! But sin entered the world. Ugliness became a part of the picture! God could have destroyed it all and started all over again. That's often the way I do things when they don't turn out right, but our Creator is merciful and compassionate. He had a plan for all of us which included redemption.

Isaiah 58:11, a favorite of mine, was written to God's children who had turned away from Him. Likewise, the passage from Jeremiah was written to wayward children. Our God is a God of redemption and restoration. What a comfort to us that He doesn't abandon His children. He offers us hope! As we yield our lives to Him, we can be certain that He will guide; He will satisfy; He will nourish, strengthen and help us! We will be like the watered gardens! Our lives will flourish. The beauty of Christ will grow within us and radiate outward so that others will see and be drawn to our Savior. For it is He, who is to be the Main Attraction in the garden of our lives.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (text by Joachim Neander)

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy help and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires all have been
granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder a-new what the Almighty can do
if with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the "a-men" sound from His people again;
Gladly forever adore Him!

May we all live our lives yielded to the Master Gardener! May our lives flourish and be like watered gardens!

Blessings,
~Ruth

Snow Days

I'm sitting at my desk in a warm house while outside a snowstorm is raging. It is the second big storm within the past week. It isn't the norm for this region, so life for most people has ground to a sudden halt. We are stuck in our houses, or neighborhoods with interrupted schedules and unexpected time to rest, relax, reflect and maybe get caught up on a few things. Those who live with a family have the opportunity to share some time alone, perhaps making memories or just enjoying each others' company.

Andrew Murray once wrote..."take time to be separate from all friends and all duties, all cares and all joys; time to be still and quiet before God. Take time not only to secure stillness from man and the world, but from self and its energy... " For most of us, it is extremely difficult to find time to be away from all of the hustle and bustle of life and be still before the Lord. On a snow day, the hustle and bustle is gone. There is time! The snow itself reminds me of the pure and lovely holiness of our God. It reminds me of what my Savior did for me when He died on the cross. My sins are washed away! They are as white as snow! By faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I have been made clean! My heart is filled with awe for the Creator of the snow. Snow days offer the opportunity to spend a bit of time alone with Him in worship and praise and adoration.

Words of a well known hymn written by William Longstaff in 1887....

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
abide with Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God's children; help those who are weak;
forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let him be thy guide,
and run not before Him, whatever betide;
in joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord,
and, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy,be calm in thy soul;
each thought and each motive beneath his control;
thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Not everyone enjoys the snow! But, God is in control and He allows the storms to come when they do. So, life does grind to a halt. We can make the most of it.... or we can complain. Using the time to reflect on God and His Word is sure to bring blessings and peace.

May you be blessed where ever you are-
~Ruth