Gardening for the Soul

The recent news of Kate Spade's sudden death has me pondering once again the pervasive suffering and overwhelming anguish that plagues our society.

We have been born into a fallen world, so we will all experience suffering and trials in this life. The trials may come in the form of overwhelming loss, injustice, oppression, miserable circumstances, mental or physical disability, broken relationships, anxiety, stress, or fear. The struggles may be external or internal. They could be physical, chemical, or spiritual in origin, but no matter how those struggles manifest themselves, we at least share in common the certainty that difficult seasons are a given in life. We may never understand why God allows some people to suffer exceedingly more than others, with some so overwhelmed by crippling anxiety and depression that they falsely perceive suicide as the only relief, but we must cling to the truth. God is good. He is perfect in love, and He is sovereign over all.  While we can't answer all the why questions or see how God could possibly work any of this for good, we have to trust Him, knowing that while our perception and understanding are finite, He is infinite.  His plans, purposes, and ways are higher and better than ours.(Isaiah 55:9) While God doesn't promise to remove us from difficulty, He does promise to go with us through each trial, to redeem those trials for good, and to use them to help us grow into His likeness, all for His glory.

The way God works through our suffering reminds me of gardening imagery presented in Jonathan Cahn's must read work, The Book of Mysteries. God created man and woman in His own image and placed them in a garden to tend, just as God is the gardener over all, including our souls.

When Jesus took on all our sins on the cross and died, his body was placed inside a tomb in a garden. Just as a seed must die and be buried before it can produce new life, Jesus died, and His body was placed under the earth for a time, so that He could bring forth new life. His followers were devastated by grief, desperately confused, and without hope. Had they forsaken all to follow Him only to be abandoned? They did not yet understand that Jesus HAD to suffer horrifically and die, for that is what all our sins cost Him, but it all had a grand and glorious purpose - to save the world! He would rise again, just as He said. His seed produced a spiritual harvest that completely transformed the course of human history, such that all who follow Him may bury their old sinful selves and be made new, both in this life and in the next. Because of His suffering, his children will rise again as He did and live with Him forever.

Our family is not especially gifted at gardening. All we seem to grow well are weeds and rocks. Nevertheless, we recently tried to plant a garden over the plot of land our pet rabbit once called home. After we planted, two weeks of tropical storms and heavy rains came. Those weeks were dark, depressing, and miserable, but when the storms had finally passed, our seedlings had already outgrown the boundaries of our garden.

Life's storms have a way of accelerating our growth in the Lord. If we look up to God for light and receive the water that falls like our little seedlings did, we will flourish beyond any boxes we may have erected for God in our lives. As we cling to Him through the storms, we become fruitful and grow stronger and closer to Him each day. On the other hand, if we dig down deeper into this fallen earth, rejecting His light and hiding from life's storms, then we will remain as lifeless seeds, stifled beneath a hardened shell. Gardeners know this truth well.

When trials befall us, by all means, let us get help in whatever form is appropriate. Every life is sacred and of immeasurable worth, so let us unashamedly go after the help we need so we may fulfill God's glorious plans for us. But let us not forget that these trials have an eternal purpose that is far greater than the storms we see right now. And let us claim God's promises, for He is always faithful. The only one God has ever forsaken was Himself as He bore the weight of all our sins on the cross. (Mark 15:34) His love for all of us, hardened and dead little seeds that we were, held him there alone and abandoned. What amazing love the Father has bestowed upon us!

‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose...
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it....
I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay"  (Isaiah 46, selected verses)

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  (Philippians 1:6)

"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  (Deuteronomy 31:8)

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."  (Romans 8:28-29)