“Let my lover come into His garden and taste its choice fruits.” Song of Songs 4:16b (NIV)
Gardens require water and water is expensive. In other words, gardens are expensive! Not only does it cost to put in the plants, flowers, bushes and whatever else you are led to plant, now you have to nurture, weed, trim, fertilize and water! Shellie and I love building and sustaining our garden. It represents the garden of our hearts. And there is a very tangible sense of God’s presence on our property! But it costs! And that is not just our water bill! We must daily nurture our own heart, and constantly work to keep the atmosphere of our home pleasing to the Lord. We have had much cleansing of idols, and have removed many good but distracting things from our home!
Do you take time daily to work in the garden of your heart? Do you intentionally seek to plant fruit and fragrances that would be pleasing to the Lord? Do you constantly seek the Lord about the atmosphere of your home – looking for idols, and the good things that are distracting you from Him? Btw, idols may not be ancient items that were in pagan temples, as they may be things very familiar that have been passed down from your forefathers.
First, tell Lord that you want to establish a garden that He wants to dwell in. Ask Him for ideas and suggestions regarding what He wants you to plant in the garden of your heart. Ask Him to show you any things that are not pleasing to Him in your garden, and when He does, be quick to remove them either physically and/or spiritually. And be sure to take responsibility and repent whenever it is necessary. Ask Him for a greater grace to seek Him even more, to water this garden with the living water of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to help you create a garden with a fragrance that would exude to others all around you! Ask Him to stir a desire for more gardens like this across our city!
