I love looking at spring plants for sale this time of year! The dreamer side of me envisions brightly colored flowers planted in happy little pots placed perfectly in every corner of our deck. The realist side of me knows I’d forget to water on Day 2.
God is the best gardener, both in vision and in the care He provides. So why do I neglect the watering of my own soul, solemnly believing I can serve my family and half the world with papery thin roots? This is my constant struggle.
I find a surprising parallel in the life of Gideon– when his strength in plans, people, and resources decreased, his strength in the Lord increased and all the glory went to God.
“But may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its strength.” Judges 5:31b, CSB
I’ll take a decrease in my strength any day, motivated by an increase in God’s strength so that His glory might also increase!
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.
He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31, CSB
Over twenty chapters after those famous ‘strength’ verses, Isaiah records how we can be a strong ‘planting’ of the Lord, “to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3, ESV
A strong planting of the Lord does NOT look like Isaiah 64:6b, “…We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” If we aren’t strongly planted in Christ, we WILL fade away– blown about and tossed in the winds of worry and weariness.
Here’s five ways we can renew our strength in the Lord as we serve Him and flourish as a healthy planting for His glory, illustrated by a story:
I had a roommate in college that gave me a lovely ivy plant. It was planted nicely in dirt and the leaves were just starting to peek out from the basket it sat in. Up to that point, I had only ever admired other people’s plants, never having taken care of one on my own.
God, in contrast to me without a plant care manual, has given us His Word that He might be glorified through the planting of our lives.
- Give control of your life to the Planter (God)-
Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”; Romans 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As we give the God of Hope control of our lives, He fills us “with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13
- Soak up the Sunshine of God’s Word-
I set my plant on our windowsill so it could bask in the Chicago-based sunshine. It was so nice to look at…until the leaves started turning a crispy brown and fell off the basket onto our dorm room floor. I was flabbergasted when my dear roommate said, “Denna, don’t you know that plants need to be watered?!” The daily sunshine had made my plant thirsty!
Thirst signals new growth is just around the corner.
- Thirst for more of the Planter (God) and the planting manual (God’s Word)-
As longings do, thirst for fresh water might just come when you and I are parched in the wilderness. Psalm 63:1-2, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” -David’s words from the wilderness of Judah
After time, the soil level in my plant went down until there wasn’t enough dirt to sustain a healthy plant. My roommate told me I needed to add some new potting soil. I felt a little ‘put out’ that my free plant (enjoying free water and sunshine) also needed me to ‘put out’ some money! It was going to cost me something to keep my plant looking pretty and green in its basket!
It will ‘cost’ us to be a strong planting of the Lord…but it’s always a good investment-
- Invest in good potting soil- what resources can you use?; who is around you that can pour into your spiritual growth and you into theirs?
Some of my favorite resources are my study Bible, special highlighters, one pen, and my feet locked into a foot massager to encourage me to linger at the Lord’s feet. At other times, it’s prayer walks with my husband, weekly phone prayer times with our son, refreshing chats with our four daughters, mentoring a Bible college student, conducting the church choir, and renewing conversations I get to have with ministry wives from all seasons of life and ministry.
- Pour out; Start a new planting, multiply it out to others sharing God’s goodness.
Isaiah 58:10-11 “if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
My husband’s late Grandma Emma gave me a little planting from her Christmas cactus years ago. I’ve grown two more full plants and given numerous ‘slips’ away for others to grow their own. We can’t ‘out pour’ God. As He pours into us, we overflow into others as a strong planting of the Lord and it’s for His glory.
A bonus word- TREMBLE. Not tremble in the wind like a leaf; tremble in holy reverence for God and His Word as we PLANT ourselves in Him and for His glory!
Isaiah 66:2b, “But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
More than anything, I want to be a strong planting of the Lord for His glory!
Taking It Further
- Is there any area of my life I need to give further control of to the Lord so that I might abound in hope?
- How can I allow God’s Word to shine brighter in my life?
- How thirsty am I? Do I make adequate time to saturate my soul? What’s one change I can make?
- What’s one investment I have recently made to further my spiritual growth? What’s one investment I have recently made to further someone else’s?
- Have I grown any ‘plantings’ recently? What fear(s) hold me back from sharing God’s goodness with others?
- When was the last time I trembled at God’s Word, leading to humility and more dependency on the Holy Spirit?
