Is Your Soul Well-Watered?
Everyone who knows me has seen photos of my beautiful flower gardens. Over the years my husband and I have planted flowering bushes and perennials in the front and back of our home. A healthy garden needs a balance of good soil, water and sunshine as well as weeding and protection from pests. I carefully chose plants to bloom at different times throughout the growing season. Many people have been recipients of cuttings and divided plants. Since I can see them out of my kitchen window I am reminded to weed and water them and the weatherman warns of intense heat or heavy rains.So why don’t I have a green thumb like my mother for indoor plants?
Very few indoor plants have survived in my home more than a few years. My husband likes poinsettias at Christmas but I feel like the poor plant is doomed once it graces our table. Right now there are a few surviving Anthurium that I divided from a gift given to me. They are pretty hardy to make it this far! The pots are sitting in my dining room mostly out of sight. They get plenty of sun but I forget to water them and they are long over due for a pruning and transplanting.
The Christian life is often compared to a garden. Our hearts and souls need to be fed and watered by the Word of God. What we can see is only temporary but our souls are eternal and invisible.
1 Peter 1:24–25 (ESV)
…for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The parable of the Sower and the Seed is retold in 3 of the 4 gospels. Jesus often used parables to teach the people spiritual truth.
Mark 4:13–20 (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
“The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them. “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”
My houseplants are out of sight and often out of mind. If I leave my Bible on a side shelf then I can’t see it and it may also get neglected. We can “survive” quite awhile on past knowledge and experience with the Lord but we cannot spiritually grow and thrive if we do not tend our hearts, minds and souls. How can we make wise decisions each day or say we love Him if we don’t spend time with Him in prayer and reading His Word?
Deuteronomy 6:5–6 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
If I truly want my spiritual life to be pleasing to God and I want people to see the beauty and peace He gives then I must care for my soul. I need to be careful to remove the bugs and weeds that can choke out truth. I must cultivate a deep faith and trust in Him day by day. It takes effort on our part to have a well watered and healthy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV)
Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Psalm 1:1–3
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Dear Lord, Protect my heart and soul from busyness, conflict and the worries of each day. Draw me closer through prayer and reading you Word. Help me keep my eyes on you and see others as you do. Remind me of your truth and steadfast love despite any circumstances. Continue to weed out anything that keeps me from growing in your grace. Thank you for being the Living Water for my soul. Amen
