Word of the Day
Beloved, once again as I end this letter of love and instruction to you, I want you to remember I know your every need. Like the Rose of Sharon needs pruning and well drained soil so do you. They require full sun and the older they get the more they need the fullness of the sun least they fall prey to fungal damage.
Therefore, I trim and prune your life into the desired shape making you into the fullness of all I have called your garden to be. Sometimes the longer you know Me can make you think you need less of the Son in your everyday life. The contrary is true. You need more of Me in order to not become so familiar that you forget how subtle the enemy can and will be. Every garden of My heart needs the fresh manna of My Presence to grow and stay healthy. Maintain your garden…your roses and your lilies by staying close to Me.
In the natural some Roses of Sharon are trained to grow in what is called an “espalier” style which means it grows on a single plane along a wall or a fence. In doing this, the Rose of Sharon is not allowed to deviate from the given path set for it by the master gardener so that a trellis of great beauty is formed. They are prized because of their ability to withstand heat and bloom when nothing else is in bloom all the while being quite drought-tolerant. The gardener is told not to give up on a Rose of Sharon thinking it might be dead just because it hasn’t leafed out in early summer because it often leafs out and blooms late.
As You listen with obedience to Me during our walks in the cool or heat of the day, you avoid many unpleasant encounters in life. You are able to grow on a parallel plane with Me or bush out in great glory. When we work together to make your garden grow, you, like the Rose of Sharon, can grow in such a manner that you do not deviate from a lifestyle defined by My Word.
There may be promises you have given up on…people you have given up on and I want you to know just because they seem dead or unresponsive does not mean they will not bloom. Be like a good gardener and don’t give up. I haven’t given up on you or those you love.
I haven’t given up on the promises I have made to you .Like the Lily of the Valley many will bloom in some of the most unlikely places. Some will bloom in some of the most seemingly hostile places when you least expect them to do so. So you will know how much I love you…so you will know how much I love the garden of your heart and life, I am breathing the fresh breath of spring into some dead places. I am calling them to leaf out and bloom when nothing else is blooming. You are My Rose of Sharon. You are My Lily of the Valley. Therefore, it is My pleasure to do so for you, for I love you with an everlasting love yesterday, today and forever.
SHE SAID] I am only a little rose or autumn crocus of the plain of Sharon, or a [humble] lily of the valleys [that grows in deep and difficult places]. But Solomon replied, Like the lily among thorns, so are you, my love, among the daughters. Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved [shepherd] among the sons [cried the girl]! Under his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. (Song of Solomon 2:1-2 Amplified)
Prayer
Lord God, I praise You for You are the Master Gardener of all time. The first garden was created by you for the habitation of man. All attention and care was given to the formation of the earth and creation demonstrated the beauty of Your heart for the universe to see.
Your heart overflows and pours out fountains of glory and fragrance…pours out verdant shades and hues of color…pours out sounds and shapes representing every aspect of Your multi-faceted being until the whole earth blooms in diverse arrays of color, sound and light. All of time is infused with Your glorious essence.
Though You created all these things it was not enough…though roses and lilies were arraigned in beauty greater than that of all the kings of the earth it was not enough…you wanted me…desired to be with me and prepared a way for me. Out of the muck and mire of a world given to sin, you plucked me…you plucked me out of its midst to prune me, train me and arrange me like a bouquet of many colors, sounds and smells. You called me your pearl of great price before there was a day in my mother’s womb. You loved me before I ever was and chose to make me a portion of Your heart.
You created me and You know how to prune me in order to make me to grow into the most fruitful and beautiful creation You designed me to become a reflection of your image and glory when you first breathed the breath of life into Adam…when you first spread out the starry host.
Good and trustworthy One, please trim and prune me into whatever shape you desire. Make me a bush where others come to rest or make me one who trails along tight and parallel ways. The choice is Yours and I submit to it. I am listening and I am willing to work together with You to make my garden grow in the ways of Your heart and Your desire. I will not give up when my fruit is not visible or when all things look dead to the eye. I will continue on to take care of all You have given me as I co-labor with You. I am your garden. I am your pearl of great price and You are mine.
I am listening to You Lord. I desire to work together with You to make my garden grow in the way You desire it to be. I will not give up on that which seems to have no fruit; I will continue to take care of that which you have given me charge over in the garden. I love You Lord. Amen.
Reflect and Journal
- Are you willing to work in the garden (area of service, family, job, ministry…and so on) God has set you in and co-labor with Him to bring His essence into all you do?
- Are you willing to let the Master Gardener prune all unprofitable things which come like little foxes to destroy your garden? That will enable you to bear more fruit.
- What promises are you believing for that have not come to bear fruit yet? Write down that which you are waiting to see blossom.
- Spend some intimate time giving God thanks for the pruning process, knowing that the end result will bring forth the most magnificent garden of beauty and life within you.
- Meditate on ways you are like a rose of Sharon and ways you are like a lily. What attributes mentioned in reference to these flowers do you most need in your life?
- Write a prayer to the Lord from the abundance of your own heart. It does not have to be like mine…does not have to be flowery and poetic…it just has to be a reflection of the garden He made your heart to be. Some gardens have cactus (strong and resilient in the toughest of environments), some roses (some ever blooming and some not), some orchids (best suited to tropical places), some regular garden varieties (adaptable to many different places and the list goes one. It is not wrong to be one and not another. It is only wrong to compare yourself with others and not value who you are because of said comparison.
- Do you compare each snowflake that fall? No! But when they fall together side by side the blanket the earth in beauty. It is true that all things should be practiced when we express ourselves to God according to how He made us. The same goes for your prayer to the Lord. Take this advice in all aspects of your relationship with Him…not just in writing this prayer. He loves who you are (Psalm 139).