This is the time of year we see a lot of plant problems in
our office. People bring in their sickly items and one of our agriculture
agents will attempt to diagnose the problem. Sometimes we have to send off the
plant sample to the disease lab. They are specialists at diagnosing problems
including diseases and insects.
Today we had a tomato sample, a worm identification, two
grass samples and a tree sample. The roots of grass from one home’s lawn were
completely rotted away. The grass was turning yellow and the entire yard was
dying. It had started out in small patches, but over the course of several
weeks it had overtaken all the grass.
Insects eat away at healthy tissue until there’s nothing
left. If they nibble at the fruit of a plant, the fruit becomes inedible –
unusable. If the roots of the grass or other plant are affected by disease,
then no nutrients can enter into the green leaves. Without proper nutrition
everything dies.
Our faith is a like a plant. Unless our roots are strong and
healthy, they cannot extend deep into the soil. If they don’t extend deep
enough, then shallow living is what you have. And shallow living makes for
problems.
Problems and trials are a lot like worms in the garden. If
left unattended we lose the fruit of our lives and faith is eaten away. Once
our faith is compromised, we have little hope of producing for the Kingdom.
As believers we must spend time tending the garden of our
faith. At the first sign of trouble it’s imperative that we seek the wisdom of
the Lord. The quicker we bring our problems to Him, the easier they are to
diagnose and repair. If we let it go, the diseases of this world will overtake
us. We must also make sure to pick the worms that constantly want to eat away
at our faith. Those pests are persistent, so we must always be on watch and
always seek God’s help with our weaknesses.
In this walk of faith, we often want to be so strong that we
can handle it all, including the fruit pests and root problems everyone has.
But real life in Christ doesn’t ignore our own weaknesses. It admits our need
and lets God’s strength be ours. Without the Lord, we cannot hope to be cured
and find strength to grow fresh and healthy fruit for the Kingdom.
Oh beloved, how’s the garden of your heart this morning? Are
you weakening under the load of pests – the hurts, the sorrows, the fear? Is
the fruit of the spirit being eaten away because you’re unable to handle all
the problems yourself? Run to the Lord
this morning and let Him have your problems. He knows your weaknesses and He’s
more than able to be strength for you! He knows your root problems and He’s
able to cure them by His Holy Spirit. God will always be there to help you and
never leave you to languish and die no matter what. Let Him dig deep to find
the real problems and watch as your healing comes and your fruit returns in
greater quantity and quality than you’ve ever dreamed!
God loves you so much that He’s made a way to give you
everything you need for a fruitful, faithful life and He’s for you so that even
when you get overtaken by pests, He’s there to remove the damages and restore
the joy!
Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the
good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on
the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Colossians 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of
the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God;
Ephesians 3:16 I pray that from His glorious, unlimited
resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
2 Peter 1:8 The more you grow like this,
the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Psalm 92:12-14 But the godly will flourish
like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
