WATERED GARDEN

…Their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all – Jeremiah 31:12b

What a privilege, to have one’s soul under heavenly cultivation; no longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord! This same God “planted a garden eastward in Eden” that was overflowing in pleasantness, nourishment, bliss, and tranquillity. It was not a dry and barren garden, because the Great Gardener ensured that “a river went out of Eden to water the garden” (Genesis 2:8-10).

This garden that is my life is enclosed from the waste and wilderness of the world, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power. Mine is a favoured soul, prepared to yield much fruit unto the Lord.

This is God’s promise for my garden: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not (Isaiah 58:11).

But natural gardens may become parched for want of water, and then all their herbs decline and their flowers fade, ready to die. But, my Gardener has assured that He will never leave me nor forsake the garden of my life (Hebrews 13:5). The garden of my life bears a “No trespass sign” that keeps the serpent and his cohorts at bay. This garden is covered by divine covenant against every form of adversity and calamity, defended from drought and disasters, shielded from the storms, and protected from the invasion of demonic pests.

A garden without water soon ceases to be a garden at all, as nothing can come to maturity, grow, or even live in the absence of water. Isaiah 1:30 speaks of “an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.” What a thrill then, for a soul to be watered daily by the Holy Spirit; evenly – every part of the garden receiving its own stream as was in Eden; plentifully – ensuring abundant nourishment for every tree and herb; perpetually – hourly refreshment; and wisely – each plant receiving just what it needs.

The lushness of the garden expresses the presence of flowing waters – symbolic of the workings of the Holy Spirit upon the tender herbs and trees of the garden. O Lord, I thank You for making my life to be a watered garden. I long for more of your waters to flow in my life’s garden that it may blossom, flourish and be abundantly fruitful!