So many of you share my love of gardening, from growing flowers to maintaining the yards of our homes with nice, beautiful, green lawns, if we can.
While I was out watering my lawn, I noticed that there were spots on it, that the sprinklers have a tendency of missing. So I take out the hose and water. I wait about 30 seconds and water all around those areas that are brown. I was also thinking about what I should blog about next.
That’s when God spoke to my heart.
He asked me if I knew why those spots are brown.
In my over confidence, I said, Um, sure, the sprinkler isn’t watering very well and these are missed areas.
Know where I am going with this one?
God asked me if I was sure it was really lack of water or could it be something else. I felt His probing in asking what else cause brown spots.
Here is the answer I gave Him. Well it could be dog urine, grubs under the lawn or some other type of lawn pest, heat, not fertilizing it enough or even over watering.
Then God asked me, how I could apply those same symptoms to the Christian walk when things aren’t going so well. So I took them in the order I gave them to God.
Not getting enough water – Well that just goes without saying that if we stay away from church or God’s word long enough, we run dry. We start to conform and become like those in the world that are without Christ. Water is vital to all living things; much like God’s word is vital to the Christian walk. Without it, we are way out of balance.
Dog Urine – This is the example of when something is done to us, and we keep dwelling on it over and over. It eats away at us, little by little, until we finally blow up at the first person that comes along. We need to rinse it off, by giving it up to God in prayer to deal with, and not think about it any longer. We gave it to God, let it go. Don’t try and take it back to deal with on your own.
Grubs or other pests in your lawn – Temptation on a daily basis for Christians can make us weak over time, if we don’t do what is vital to keep our thoughts right with God. All temptations start with a thought, and it gets fed over and over until we often justify that it’s OK to do it. The problem is the longer we let it go, the worse the problem becomes. Like grubs and other lawn pest, we need the ultimate insecticide, let’s call it the Bible for us Christians. Plus its green friendly and organically safe. No animals were harmed in the reading of the Bible. Get yours today!
Heat – When stress and other pressures build up on us, we break. Just like the green lawn can only take extreme temperatures for brief periods, we too are like that. We can only take so much before we have to give it to God. God didn’t design us to bear the burden of the world alone. He meant to share the things that can be too heavy. God is always willing to shoulder the heavier burdens for us, leaving us the lighter ones. Rest in God’s green pasture.
Fertilizer – We all need food to survive. In the Christian world, this comes not only in reading God’s word, but also in prayer and in fellowship with others. We become better people and feel a lot happier after being in the presence of God at church and through Bible studies. Get involved if you aren’t feeling especially spiritual lately and see what it can do for you.
Over Watering – I know some Christians are so involved with church, fellowships, Bible Studies, church functions, prayer vigils and personal time reading the Bible, that they forget the needy around them. If we don’t take time to care for others that are in desperate need of God’s living water, we are simply being greedy and wasting the precious resource God gave us.
I pray that if your walk is weak, see if those ‘brown spots’ in your spiritual life, aren’t related to they symptoms above. If they are, be assured it’s a simple fix if you’re willing to treat them. The quicker the better to a more beautiful, green, lush lawn in your Christian walk.
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