“The Lord brings forth every condition needed for flourishing and abundance.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 8, 2023
In that day—“Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.” Isaiah 27:2-3, NIV
Recently, as winter slowly gave way to spring, my son and I set out for an afternoon of planting new trees and shrubs around our yard. Increasingly, I have come to view the act of planting as one of the world’s great wonders. The fact that new life springs forth simply by digging a hole and placing a plant in it will forever mystify me.
At only nine years old, digging and planting was a bit too strenuous for my son, and so he found himself responsible for a job that he was less than enthusiastic about: watering each plant. Due to the unfortunate discovery of a faulty hose, he found that he had to fill a watering can and haul water from one end of the yard to the other, and repeat the process for each and every plant. Thoroughly exhausted by the end of our labor, you can imagine his shock and horror when told that these new plants had to be watered, not once, but at least once a week for the next year! “One and done” is, in the landscaping world, a recipe for disaster!
In truth, it is equally catastrophic for our spiritual lives, yet mercifully, it is the very opposite of God’s posture toward us!
I think of this scene when I read the ancient words of Isaiah 27:2-3. Here the Lord speaks of his people as a fruitful vineyard. The source of its great abundance and life? The steady and faithful hand of the Master Gardener. The Lord watches over it day and night, watering it continually. Never once is God absent or negligent in his “duties,” but instead brings forth every condition needed for flourishing and abundance.
Of course, this begs the question: how do we respond to his loving care? Yes, he keeps outside forces at bay “so that no one may harm it,” yet what about the forces within? The twisted and distorted desires that keep us in an interior state of decay? Are we able to do our part in tending to the soil of our hearts?
As we rejoice today in the refreshing waters that quench even the most barren land, let us also ensure that we are daily opening our lives to receive his rain and be transformed by it.
Prayer
Father, thank you for your goodness to us and the refreshment that you bring. Open our hearts to be receptive to your life-giving rain, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Take time to reflect upon the Lord’s continual goodness in your life.
Related Reading
Psalm 72:6; Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 31:12
Worship Resource
Shane & Shane: Barren Land
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