Isaiah 58:11 - The Flowers of God's Garden

Isaiah 58:11 “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

You have seen a garden in full bloom, do you remember it?  If not then perhaps imagine one. Each flower there is carefully arranged, carefully spaced, carefully pruned, and tenderly cared for. Despite the weather the garden is always tended, the gardener never taking a break from his labors. Do you see it? Smell the air, fragrant with the tantalizing odors of hundreds, thousands, billions of flowers, each one separate, each one contributing to the bouquet, the perfume at your nose. Feel the breeze, now softly kissing your skin, now blustering and blowing, changing directions and bringing new petals to lie at your feet. You see this garden? This is the garden of God. Each flower and each plant is a life, a person, a soul.

Some of the flowers bloom fully and mightily, giving their all for their short span in the garden while some sulk and refuse to blossom.  Some flowers  hold back their distinctive smells and glorious colors while others refuse to be dragged down to the mundane. In every case, each flower is tended by the great gardener Himeslf. Each flower, each shrub, tree, bush, and plant is pruned so that it will have the maximum growth possible and will be displayed to its fullest potential. Each plant is carefully planted and watered, from the seed to full maturity because the Gardener knows what is best for that plant. The Gardener also knows where He wants that plant and how He desires to show off and display the plant that each plant is the most beautiful to be seen. The Gardener has a plan for His garden and nothing will get in the way.

Each arrangement shows off every flower to its best potential, each skilled grouping takes every flower to its utmost. In every case the Gardener knows what is best, encouraging, cajoling, challenging, pruning, or just letting it go. Every flower is different, every plant is unique, and the Gardener knows each one by name. It is the most beautiful garden in the universe. Do you see it?

You are part of it. You are an integral part of it, not just a sideline attraction. You are the main show, the primary exhibition in God's great garden of Life. Yes, you!  Don't be ashamed but rather be glad, be joyful, be glorious for that is how God, our Gardener sees you. Glorious, Filled, Given every chance to exceed! You are His prized selection! There is no pressure to perform, just be! Just by existing you make Him so proud! Don't be ashamed if you are a petunia, a daisy, or lilly. The orchids and roses display you to your best! He is pleased with you no matter what the beauty of the others may be, no matter the size of their petals or the depth of their roots. You are unique and only you can do and be where He wants your to be or to do.

In the garden, in the garden of Jesus our Savior,
We are growing, we are growing for Jesus alone.
Like the flow’rs of the morning His garden adorning,
We are growing for Jesus, His loved and His own.

Jesus loves us, Jesus loves us, the flow’rs of His garden;
He will keep us, He will keep us, nor leave us alone.
Like the flowÕrs of the morning His garden adorning,
We are growing for Jesus, His loved and His own.
                                                                 Julia Johnston, 1908.