By Alyssa Hage

This is the third in a five-part weekly series – we’d like to celebrate spring and the opportunities it presents, both physically to the new life on earth, and spiritually to the work Christ is springing forth from our hearts. Have a blessed spring rejoicing in Christ’s glory!

“Jesus answered and said unto her,
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee,
Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him,
and He would have given thee living water…
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.”
{John 4:10,13-14}

The cactus plant retains water to survive living in a dry climate. Be like a cactus. Retain the water of God’s Word and you can live cheerfully anywhere, even in a desert. John 7:37-38: “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” It’s important for the gardener to be regularly present—to observe and prevent, to notice and nourish—in order for the garden to grow. It’s important for us to be regularly in God’s presence in order to grow spiritually; if I am not, I won’t notice His songs, hear His voice, or respond to His instructions. As we are persistent in cultivating a lovely garden, so we should persist in the cultivation of living in God’s presence. As we draw near to Him, our gardens (our lives and homes) reflect the glory of His presence. Our relationship with God, like a garden, is a place of creation, consecration, and calm.

“Thou wilt show me the path of life:
in Thy presence is fullness of joy;
at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
{Psalm 16:11} 

God gave Adam work to do in the Garden of Eden, but it was also His idea to just walk together in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Often we think we need to do great things for God, but He wants us to simply enjoy the great things He has created and done for us. Contemplating the flow of water down a waterfall…A minute passes, is it the same stream still? Yes. But is it the same water? No. The liquid mass that passed me a few seconds ago now fills another section of the channel, new water has replaced it; water instead of water. John 1:16: “Of His (Jesus) fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” The word “for” means “instead of.” The picture is of a perpetual succession of supply, a displacement ever going on, like a waterfall. So hour-by-hour and year-by-year, grace takes the place of grace through Christ. One stream has continual water displacement. Our lives in Christ have continual grace. James 4:6-7&10: “But He giveth more grace…God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”

Just as plants can’t grow in a garden having hard ground, so our lives can’t be fruitful with a hard heart of unbelief. God grows beautiful things from the soil of depleted lives. Go to the Lord and exchange your ruined garden for a garden full of roses. Isaiah 35:1-2: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing…” 

“And the LORD shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones:
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
{Isaiah 58:11}

Just as we restore ruined gardens, God restores ruined lives. As a Father, God envisioned His children having fellowship with Him in unbroken harmony. In the Garden of Eden, His vision was fulfilled only temporarily and then disobedience brought ruin. It took Jesus Christ to restore the fellowship between God and mankind by taking the penalty for our sins. From fulfillment to ruin to restoration; now for those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior, the Garden of Eden still exists. Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.”

Keep the soil of your heart well-cultivated for the seed of God’s Word to take root in. Then He will plant within you a garden of beautiful roses in the midst of the spiritually dry and thirsty land in which we live.

“O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee:
my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee
in a dry and thirsty land,
where no water is; to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee…
Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me.”
{From Psalm 63} 

Tips for Your Garden

The centifolia roses are often called cabbage roses because their whorled petals and lush rounded blossoms resemble cabbage heads. Feed roses with a granular slow-release fertilizer or apply a dousing of fish emulsion. Water “modern” roses (varieties of the 1900s) several times a week to a depth of three inches; “old” roses (varieties of the 1800s) need watering once a week. Avoid wetting foliage to discourage black spot.

~Alyssa K. Hage
{Guest Writer}