Spring is here and it is planting season. While I have never had my own garden, I watched my father spend many hours tending his while growing up. This year I plan on starting a small one and was looking up some helpful tips and steps. Spring is an awesome season because it is full of new things and growth. It’s also a wonderful time to tend the garden of our hearts.
While reading an article about gardening, it stated that the first step is to observe. It said in order to successfully grow food, you have to have an understanding of what is going on where you are planting, what other people are growing in your area, and how much sunlight gets to the spot where you want to plant.
Let’s observe our own garden. Are we producing the fruit that God wants us to? Maybe the soil of our hearts is not soft enough to receive the seed. In gardening, we would till the land by turning it over. Getting rid of the weeds and thorns and all the hard places.
Hosea 10:12
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Jeremiah 4:3
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns
We have to observe our hearts. What is keeping us from producing fruit? What thorns do we have that are choking out the seeds before they can produce (Matthew 13:7)? Is it doubt, fear, unworthiness, rejection, unforgiveness, jealousy, pride, or intellectualism? The list of thorns is endless and different for each person, but if we keep ignoring them, we will never produce the fruit that God has intended.
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
We have to ask God to search our hearts to expose the thorns that He can break them up and make our hearts soft.
Once we check the soil, then we need to check what other people are growing around us. In gardening this will show us what type of fruit successfully grows in our area based on climate and soil fertility.
What kind of fruit is our company that we keep producing? Do we keep the company of complainers and gossipers? Are our friends liars and cheaters? If so, then our climate will limit the fruit that is produced by us. Our inner circle should be filled with people who are producing good fruit. These are the people that have the most influence on us.
1 Corinthians 15:33
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
We can’t stay in evil company without it eventually corrupting us. We come into the presence of evil doers with the love of God and kindness, praying that they will be drawn to the Father. We can’t stay in their presence. We have to separate ourselves from people who are making our garden’s climate unfavorable for growth.
Proverbs 27:17
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
When we have friends that are producing good fruit, it helps fertilize our gardens and makes our soil rich to grow new seed.
We also need to observe how much sun is shining on our garden. Are we reading our Bible? Do we spend time in worship? How often are we praying? All these things cause the light of God to shine bright within us. The more light that we produce, the more fruit we will produce also. Jesus is our light. When we keep Him first, He will shine on everything around us.
Father we thank You that You are a master gardener. We ask You to tend the garden of our heart. Forgive us for ignoring our soil, climate, and light. Expose every thorn and hard place that is stopping us from producing fruit. We want a new thing to spring forth in our hearts. Align us with people who are producing good fruit. We commit ourselves to put Jesus first that He may shine His light wherever we go. Let His light in us overflow to places that were once dark causing people to be led to You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
While reading an article about gardening, it stated that the first step is to observe. It said in order to successfully grow food, you have to have an understanding of what is going on where you are planting, what other people are growing in your area, and how much sunlight gets to the spot where you want to plant.
Let’s observe our own garden. Are we producing the fruit that God wants us to? Maybe the soil of our hearts is not soft enough to receive the seed. In gardening, we would till the land by turning it over. Getting rid of the weeds and thorns and all the hard places.
Hosea 10:12
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Jeremiah 4:3
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns
We have to observe our hearts. What is keeping us from producing fruit? What thorns do we have that are choking out the seeds before they can produce (Matthew 13:7)? Is it doubt, fear, unworthiness, rejection, unforgiveness, jealousy, pride, or intellectualism? The list of thorns is endless and different for each person, but if we keep ignoring them, we will never produce the fruit that God has intended.
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
We have to ask God to search our hearts to expose the thorns that He can break them up and make our hearts soft.
Once we check the soil, then we need to check what other people are growing around us. In gardening this will show us what type of fruit successfully grows in our area based on climate and soil fertility.
What kind of fruit is our company that we keep producing? Do we keep the company of complainers and gossipers? Are our friends liars and cheaters? If so, then our climate will limit the fruit that is produced by us. Our inner circle should be filled with people who are producing good fruit. These are the people that have the most influence on us.
1 Corinthians 15:33
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
We can’t stay in evil company without it eventually corrupting us. We come into the presence of evil doers with the love of God and kindness, praying that they will be drawn to the Father. We can’t stay in their presence. We have to separate ourselves from people who are making our garden’s climate unfavorable for growth.
Proverbs 27:17
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
When we have friends that are producing good fruit, it helps fertilize our gardens and makes our soil rich to grow new seed.
We also need to observe how much sun is shining on our garden. Are we reading our Bible? Do we spend time in worship? How often are we praying? All these things cause the light of God to shine bright within us. The more light that we produce, the more fruit we will produce also. Jesus is our light. When we keep Him first, He will shine on everything around us.
Father we thank You that You are a master gardener. We ask You to tend the garden of our heart. Forgive us for ignoring our soil, climate, and light. Expose every thorn and hard place that is stopping us from producing fruit. We want a new thing to spring forth in our hearts. Align us with people who are producing good fruit. We commit ourselves to put Jesus first that He may shine His light wherever we go. Let His light in us overflow to places that were once dark causing people to be led to You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
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