Encouragement for those doing the hard garden work with Christ
You are not alone
“The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you…He Himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. He will be victorious.”
Psalms 110:5, 7
As I type this I am praying that as God is refreshed from brooks along the way in His work of protecting His people & casting down their enemies, so we, in our work with Him, will drink deeply from the brooks He has given us- the encouragement & refreshment of His presence, His Word, & His steady faithfulness to us.
This verse reminds me of God resting as well, & wanting us to do the same through His sabbath & abiding in Him. Weekly we are meant to rest & reset as part of His good design- that we would find rest & contentment in His presence. And moment by moment we are designed to come to Him & dwell with Him in His easy yoke, not trying to do things in our own wisdom or strength.
God’s masterful work on us & in us is for a purpose- to join Him in His good works!
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10
This gem of a verse is found in a passage bent on reminding Gentile Christians where they came from & how it was God who united them to Christ so they have no reason to boast. It reminds us to credit God with every beautiful thing He has wrought in our lives & remember that our re-creation was for a purpose- the purpose of joining Him in His good works - things He planned long ago for us to do!
What we get to do in our various ministries & programs that align with God’s desires is walk a path that God Himself has cleared & tended & walked Himself countless times. He has not left us alone to walk this path & do the works prepared for us. He has given us:
His Spirit,
His Word, &
His body
to encourage & guide & strengthen us for the difficult times Jesus promised we would encounter along His way.
God guarantees growth wherever His word is sown
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”
Isaiah 55:10-13
These promises bring me so much comfort - I know they are true because I’ve seen God’s word produce joy & peace -despite the circumstances- in my life & others’ lives countless times.
Getting down & dirty with people who have thorns & nettles of sin or trauma inflicting pain & discomfort in their soul inevitably leads to sharing in some of that pain & discomfort & it is no easy cross to bear.. but this is exactly what Jesus chose to embrace by coming to live as a man with men & by walking the path of the cross - the path of good works God had prepared for Him!- with love for us, even before we loved Him.
Unrequited love is a suffering we are invited into with our Father
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your brothers, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
But you are to be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
It has always been counter-cultural & self-defying to love our enemies or those who don’t just disagree with us but are actually evil, unjust, & persecuting us! Unjust persecution is the path Jesus walked in order to rescue & redeem us. And He told us that followers should not expect better treatment than their teacher. But it is still difficult to truly love those who don’t love us back or even go so far as to hurt us with their words or actions.
Let us pray for & encourage each other to do the hard work of taking up this cross each day to follow Him in His Calvary love!
“If I ask to be delivered from trial rather than for deliverance out of it, to the praise of His glory; if I forget that the way of the Cross leads to the Cross and not to a bank of flowers; if I regulate my life on these lines, or even unconsciously my thinking, so that I am surprised when the way is rough, and think it strange, though the word is, “Think it not strange,” “Count it all joy,” then I know nothing of Calvary love.”