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