Lately, the Lord has been speaking to me through gardening. This year my garden hasn’t gotten the attention it needs. Life has been full of work, kids and joyful blessings like Pursuing Redemption. But tonight, I took myself out on a date to Farm Bar Tulsa, the sister restaurant to the Living Kitchen Farm and Diary. I had a lovely conversation with the chef behind the counter, and we talked gardening and cooking. After asking several questions about different plants, the chef made the comment that those types of plants can’t grow without the right nutrients in the soil. How many times do we allow God to shift the soil in our life to create the right nutrients? We like to hold onto to control, fear and a host of lies, not allowing him to shape the soil of our life into something beautiful.
Move the dirt
Oftentimes, we want to be in charge of our own destiny. That is until we mess it up enough to say, ‘please take it back, Lord.’ We think if we move this dirt over here, no one will notice. Or if we allow a little bit of our heart to open up before God, it will be enough. But what if we allowed him to move the dirt out of our lives? What if we let him remove all the lies we believe and replace it with the truth? Our lives would look so different. The dirt would start to transform and less gunk would be in the way of him creating beauty in our lives.
Shift the sand
What are building on? Sinking sand or solid ground? Are you taking in what the world says is coming or are you standing on the truth of God’s word? I’ve let go of several voices I listen to prophetically and politically because it was too much noise. Personally, I’ve needed to sit in the quiet place and just be. Truly hold onto Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” How often do we let him fight our battles and build something which stands the test of time? Truth wins in the end.
Plant some roots
Man, gardening and farming is hard work. It takes a lot of tending to and cleaning out the weeds. It also requires allowing the seeds to take root to grow something fruitful. I’ve learned that blueberry and blackberry bushes are finicky and need a certain type of soil to grow properly. We as humans need the same thing. God’s word needs to be planted in our hearts and we need to unlearn busyness. By learning when to be still, we will learn when to fight. We are coming into a time where ‘we’ as Christians will need to stand up for what’s right. The only way we can fight is if our roots go down deep in Him, the author of the Bible.
So, choose wisely in this next season. Take some time to allow the Lord to shift you, dig up the lies and plant some roots into something better. A better future and a better tomorrow. Those are only possible when we are deeply rooted in him.
