Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Psalm 37:3
Change takes time. Nowhere is this
currently more evident to my physical eyes than when I look at the pastures
here at Grace Place. They’d been neglected for a long time, several areas were
completely overgrown with wild rose & blackberry brambles yielding them
impassable as in the scene from the castle in Sleeping Beauty.
As are many of our lives. Hurts and
pains grow up like the wild roses and blackberries, taking over areas where
lush, green pasture could be, perhaps once were. We feel unsafe because these
places truly ARE unsafe. We’ve got our reasons. To be completely honest, there
were times I was even thankful for the vines of thorns around the base of the
castle. “Yes. Leave me here, let me sleep. It is easier this way. There is less
pain.” In believing this lie, I then began embracing the pain, nurturing the
wounds, suppressing the heartaches, and ultimately, unknowingly, allowed them
to become my narrative. My dishonesty revealed itself in my passivity over the
pain and made me completely inaccessible to myself and then to others as well. To
be honest, to come back to reality, would be a strenuous battle.
Perimeters are important. They keep
valuables in and undesirables out. Though this work was laborious, it was
necessary. And so it is with our emotional and spiritual lives, which are
intricately and irreconcilably intertwined. “It is impossible to be spiritually
mature while remaining emotionally immature,” says Peter Scazzero. The work is
hard. There is a wall to be pushed through. Sometimes we need reinforcements.
Sometimes when the reinforcements show up, we have no visual point of reference
for what we are working toward and find it easier to blame the work on them
rather than thanking them for coming in for us. These people who are willing to
come into our lives, knowing they will get yuck from the project on them and
may get yuckier yuck blamed on them from the person in the middle of the
project but they come anyway? They are willing to stick with you even when you
lose sight of what it is that you were working toward, bearing through however
many restarts are necessary, and come with you back to the straight line you
originally intended to fight for? Well, that is love, folks. And these people
are priceless gifts. I pray you have some in your life. I pray you in turn are
able to BE that person in someone else’s life. We need each other. God created
us thus.
Clearing anything more was going to
take tools beyond what I possessed. It was time for MORE reinforcements. I
enlisted a friend from down the road who had been working to clear his land and
had purchased a tractor with bush hog. He came through twice last summer to
start to get the rest of the pasture back into shape. He took down sucker trees
and brambles like they were literally nothing. I stood in awe; my work by hand
versus this “work”? No comparison. The right tools are priceless.
It’s not unusual to find we are in
need of tools beyond what we possess when clearing our emotional and spiritual
lives. It is no different than asking my friend to bring his tractor over. Find someone who has the tools you need.
They’ve acquired them because they, too, had a need at some point. They will be
happy to share and help if only you have the courage to ask. Check out some
potential helpers here: https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/find-a-course/
Where the bramble patches were
removed, large bare spots were left in the pasture. There had been no sunlight
on these patches and all the nutrients had been drained. Unfortunately, the
soil in these areas had been depleted to the point it had very little to offer
and the propensity for different types of weeds that require almost nothing
from the soil was great. The effort required to help these weeds to grow is also zilch. Many of these weeds are toxic to livestock and it is
imperative that they be identified and removed or there will be no safe pasture
to be enjoyed.
Many of us have weeds growing in
our lives not because we WANT them, but because they happen with little or no
effort. They are default. Zero effort required. But of what value are they to our life? Our vitality? Sometimes we have unproductive areas in our lives
simply because we’ve allowed the soil to become so depleted, we have nothing
left to offer to those around us. These weeds in our life are in need of
identification and removal. It has come to my attention that one of the
significant ways I can become depleted is when, like the soil, I haven’t been getting
enough Sonlight. I have spent more time in darkness of my own thoughts, logic,
and reasoning than in the light of His presence where His thoughts become mine.
What weeds, false thinking or unproductive
habits, are you currently allowing in your pasture? We have them because we
haven’t invested the time to identify and remove. Often, we also haven’t
established healthy perimeters and taken time to deposit necessary nutrients
into our soil. Or should that be soul? It is then necessary to not leave things
empty but to plant the desirable seeds, the qualities that yield a depth of
character. that will create a fortified and thriving pasture full of nutrition
needed for health. What blossoms of truth or productive habits would you rather
bear witness to in your life?
As a believer, upon salvation, God
has rendered all weed seed in the field powerless through his blood. We are
cleared land. But what will sprout? A word of caution! Scripture tells us that
clean vessels make ideal homes for exponential impurities to return.
Luke 11:24-26
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes
through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will
return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the
house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven
other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
And so there is much work to do!
Land to claim for His holy purposes. Your daily choices decide what will sprout. We had to move quickly to get some seeds sown in the bare areas. The seeds were selected with a high degree of multi-faceted intentionality in considering of our soil, climate, and projected use of the land. My experience
is that because of the depleted nature of the soil, the desirable seed was slow
to start, it just had a hard time getting hold and taking off.
Luke 11:27-28
He (Jesus) replied, “Blessed rather
are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
What seeds are you preparing to sew
in your life? Do you know what seeds are most needed in your pasture? What He
is calling you to? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God.” If
you are unsure of the seed to pursue for your soul, take time to hear the word
of God. Read the Bible, listen to Christian radio, get involved with your local
church, listen to a podcast, find a group of friends who have like spiritual
maturity pursuits.
Once you’ve heard it, note the next
part of Jesus’ simple statement (though not simple application), “and obey it.”
Develop these new habits. Like the seed in the pasture here at Grace Place, new
habits tend to be slow to start, often awkward, and I have experienced the
enemy hissing in my ear, “It’s too much work. Things were fine as they were.
Why bother? Just stay asleep in the castle.” Resist the devil and he must flee.
Make one right choice at a time. Failed already today? That’s ok. Confess it.
Ask for Jesus’ help (I just whisper his name as an acknowledgement that I am
too weak to do this on my own) and then simply make the next right choice.
Have you ever wondered why the enemy
is so desperate to keep you contained? Paralyzed? Locked in patterns of
self-destruction and defeat? Why does he work so strenuously against us? I mean,
for all the “it’s too much work” jargon he spits out, he himself is seemingly putting
forth a great deal of effort based on the number of people around me who feel weighted
down by his attacks. WHY? Because he knows the Truth of what happens when
people get free!!!
So, I’m learning to tell the enemy to
shut up, in Jesus name, to allow Christ’s narrative to flow through me. I’m
sorry, did he just say, “Why bother?” Ha! I’m glad you asked, satan. Because I
am made for greater things. I am made for MORE than just being asleep and
letting the brambles wander where they will.
In fact, I’m going to take those brambles and put them on a trellis and allow
God to display those past mistakes (both the evil I endured and afflicted upon
others) for His glory. Because I have been grafted into a new vine, I am HIS
branch, a channel of His life to others (John 15:1, 5, 6) Because I am more
than a conqueror (Romans 8:37), and I am an integral participant in God’s liberation
efforts (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
And on the days that I’m weary I
find relief in being able to just rest with Jesus and listen to Him respond to
this vile enemy on my behalf. Because these battles are best fought when I am
still (Psalm 37:6, 46:5), by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2), from my
secret place (Psalm 91), using weapons not of this world (Ephesians 6:10-20). Because,
my friends, the battle is already won (Romans 8:31-32, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 1
John 5:4, Revelation 19-22). Claim your victory! Raise your hallelujah! Walk in
it now! Today!
1 John 5:2-5
By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the
love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not
burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the
victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the
world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Now all things are of God, who has
reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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