Just as in the natural world there are obstacles to growth, so there are obstacles in our lives to our spiritual and emotional growth. In the natural world if there is not proper food and water a plant will not grow. In the natural world if there are weeds and they are not tended to, they will overtake and choke out the life of the plant. In the natural world light is a necessary element to most plants.
In our life as Christian women, there are obstacles to our spiritual growth and to enjoying the life that God has given us. God delights in us according to Zephaniah 3:17, and Jeremiah 29:11 says he has plans for us to give us a future and a hope! That sounds like "abundant life" was on his mind doesn't it?
But sadly many Christian women aren't experiencing that abundant life, and many are even living rather chaotically and far from the peace that Christ died to bring to us. Many women have been sidetracked and sidelined by obstacles that the enemy of our soul has thrown at us, many of us, have let "weeds", "drought", and "lack of nutrition and light" impede their growth.
To be healthy we need to drink deeply of the "living water" that Jesus says is in him. We need to stay close in relationship to the Lord. We need to spend time just being refreshed by soaking in His presence. That takes a commitment of our time and will. Will I find a quiet place to just play some praise music and give my attention to adoration of Him. Will I thank Him? Will I confess my need of Him? We need to purposely choose to make time for Him, to be refreshed by being in the presence of the living water instead of going through perpetual drought.
We need to also be feeding on the right things in order to grow. Have you seen tomato plants and other plants that are given special plant food or fertilizer? They thrive and grow awesome vegetation and flowers. We must overcome the obstacle of starvation of our spirtual life. "Man doesn't live by bread alone, the scriptures tell us, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Most of us don't miss too many meals, we wouldn't let ourselves go hungry or eat only junk foods, yet we often starve our spiritual life, choosing to fill up on the junk food of life like entertainment, possessions, and status. We must feast upon God's word and take it in so that it might change our attitudes, deal with our woundedness and pain, and strengthen us for life in a fallen world. The fruit of our lives will evidence what we are feeding on. I want to feast on the truth of God's word, not the "wisdom" or cheap substitutes of this world.
Weeds can also destroy a beautiful garden. Wrong attitudes and motives, complaining, murmuring, being judgemental and critical of others, having perfectionistic, unrealistic expectations, being disobedient and prideful are all like weeds that grow and choke the life out of us and rob us of the beautiful plans God has for us. Murmuring and complaining cost the Israelistes 40 years of wandering around the same mountain instead of taking possession quickly of the promised land. Weeds need to be plucked out of a garden regularly to keep it vital and growing, the same is true of the "weeds" our enemy has sown in our lives. We must apply the "weed killer" of God's truth to the weeds in our life. We need to ask the Lord to show us what weeds are growing in our life and to seek from His words the truths that will kill those destructive weeds. It takes persistent application!
How about light? Are you letting the light of God's presence and His word move through you to others? All around us there are people who are like limp, dying plants that are planted in the darkness and need to be transplanted into the light. As the Light of the World has shone on you and given you a new life and encouragement and brought freedom, so God asks that we function as light bearers in the garden of His world. We are to shine the light of truth, encouragement, and love on those God has put in the circle of our influence. Darkness is an obstacle to growth, and can lead to death. Jesus said we are to be in the light as He is in the light. We must battle the darkness that tries to encroach upon our lives. What we see and hear and give our attention to can bring darkness into our life. We don't want to give place to these things that darken our minds, hearts, and souls. Remember Jesus said that we are the light of the world and that's because if we are in relationship with Him we bear His light to this dark world. His is a Kingdom of Light!
The Bible says we are to be rooted and grounded in Jesus to have an abundant life in this world and to overcome pain and loss. We get to choose whether our life is a beautiful, flourishing garden or a weed infested, wasteland. God has given us a free will to make that choice. He has given us the tools we need too. He says he is the vine or root and we are the branches.
I choose to seek that my life becomes a beautiful, vibrant, colorful, butterfly filled, aromatic garden, don't you?
Yes, we need to be cleansed by God on a continuous basis. Thank you for sharing.
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