“In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,
In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15 (AMP)
It took a while for me to notice how I've been walking around the garden of my heart, trying to solve issues from outside the hedges. Comparing, striving, and just being frustrated with how things are going on their side of the fence when all that I ever needed to do was to get down in the dirt and focus on gardening with Jesus. Seeing what He is busy doing in the present. Having some tea breaks under the shade of an old tree, laughing about the past, and dreaming together about the future.
It is so easy to allow our "business" to build a wall that makes it hard for us to see His faithfulness. We get so involved in doing things for God that we forget to do it "with" Him as well.
Jennie Allen, author and preacher made this statement in her book: Nothing to prove.
"In our pursuit of deep connection, we have to recognize that we can often look to good things like community, authenticity, and confession to take the place of connecting with Jesus. If we connect with people and we don't connect with God, we end up asking people to be our enough. Community is meant to point us to Jesus, not replace Him."
Can I get an "Ouch"?
But let's be real for a moment, don't we fall into this lifestyle too often? We get impatient with waiting for answers from God, that we end up running around looking for answers from people and things. We need community, there is so much value in having accountability, but the moment that we rely too much on the comfort of community rather than the heart-to-heart conversations with our Creator, should we start asking ourselves some questions?
It's always been about walking in the garden with Him, since the beginning. Walking in the cool of the day with Him. Resting in His presence (Genesis 3:8).
"What do you think, these flowers on the front porch or should we rather plant them here? The front porch, yeah good idea! Will you give Me a hand with that spade? So good to have you here kid, I love spending time with you. Excited for what's to come, I know I am. So these flowers that we are planting today will only bloom in the next season, but I plan to nurture them every single day and together we'll look forward to seeing the bright colors. Do you trust Me, will you be patient enough to wait on My faithfulness and to hold onto My promises? Striving and running around won't make them bloom earlier than they should. The degree to which you believe that I am enough, will you stop from striving, performing, and trying to prove yourself. I've got you, kid, I know the plans that I have for you. Let's do this together.
Love you, always and forever,
Dad."
Passion, Kristian Stanfill - All About You (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqBYsxfwiDg)
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