Recent hurricanes, Helene and Milton, plucked up or uprooted vegetation, trees, houses, and bridges from their foundations and scattered them about. A lot of items, including vehicles, were destroyed and sent down rivers in South and North Carolina as well as Tennessee, and parts of Georgia. Hurricanes and tornadoes are devastating; yet, as painful as uprooting things can be, that’s what God has in mind for us, in a different sense.
In the gardens of life, along with plants and flowers, grow vines and weeds. Left unchecked, they overrun everything to the point of choking the goods and overtaking the garden.
We may be firmly planted in Christ, or at least planning on serving Him in the near future, but there might be seeds, weeds, or vines needing uprooting. Do you have need of plucking out envy, jealousy, gossip? Are there seeds of indifference in your garden? Do you need to uproot bitterness or unforgiveness? Are you holding grudges against friends, your ex, or your spouse for past or recent transgressions?
What about anger and malice, do I throw in spite and defamation? Couples can live together and still be separated by un-plucked plants/vegetation. All these issues are addressed elsewhere throughout scripture.
God seeks for our lives to be like the garden of Eden; pleasant, serene, and bringing forth life. But we can’t if our lives are overrun by weeds. They need plucking immediately! See, once sin was introduced to the garden, man was kicked out (Genesis 3:22-24). That’s why He said, “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (Mat 18:9).
A garden is to be a place of harmony and wholeness. It’s where we commune with God, the Father. It was in a garden that Jesus was communing with His Dad when He was arrested. Once again, peace was disturbed; but this time man wasn’t uprooted, but God was by sinful man.
A time to pluck that which was planted is serious business. Satan, our enemy, loves to plant into our lives, seeds of contention along with everything that causes discord (Matthew 13:24-30).
This season is designated to bring us closer to God.
God Bless!
Sam