“The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.” Isaiah 58:11

I have the heart of a gardener…I guess to serve my need to nurture something. I love to watch something grow and I especially love it when a plant grows big and beautiful after a long, hard winter. Many times in the Bible God illustrates His message about developing Christlike attributes and growing in spiritual maturity, by using an analogy of a garden, a tree or a field.

In cultivating plants and gardens, what you do or don’t do in February and March affects what will or will not happen in April in May. When our neighbor plants his garden every spring he does not walk to the garden area and start throwing seeds on the ground. What does he do first? He prepares the soil, he takes some things out (grass, weeds, rocks), and he puts some things in (fertilizer, water, compost). Why? Because when the conditions are right, things will grow!

The same is true for our lives. The word cultivate means to prepare, to acquire, to grow and improve through labor, care, or study. As you cultivate the soil of your life, what are some things that need to come out? What needs to be added in? One thing that I have added to my life that has promoted spiritual growth is spending time with the Lord in His Word every day. My growth challenge to you is: 20 Minutes a Day for the Rest of Your Life. 

Time with the Lord every day will build strong faith, a resilient life and create something big and beautiful even after a long, hard winter season.

God promises to lead, satisfy, and strengthen you.

Debbie Stuart