When I was reading the Word this morning, this thought came to my mind: With each season there is specific work to be done. Spring is a time of planting new seed, tending to it, fertilizing and watering it. Each seed will grow and develop at different times. These things cannot be rushed, but it is important to tend to your new garden like a loving gardener does. Know that you will not see any fruit, or even a sprout for a while, but it doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. Important rooting is in progress, so keep tending your garden with love, tenderness and most importantly, patience.
While you are doing this, do not forget your garden that is already established. Do not let it become overgrown and forgotten. Weeds come in, quickly take over and will destroy the work that you have so patiently worked so hard on.
I see an almost dead garden. It is overgrown with dead weeds. Even the weeds are dead! But look closely; there is still life deep within this garden. Clear away the brush and dead weeds. Look closely to the ground and you will see life. Tend to this garden and you will see restoration and new growth.
Do you see the three gardens? There is the first one, which is new, where the new seeds will be planted and nurtured. The second garden is the established one that needs to be tended. The weeds come up quickly, so continue to pay attention to this garden. Do not assume that it can be left alone. The third garden is the old one that has not had any attention for a very long time. But I am here to say that it is not dead! Go back and look again. Clear away the dead and overgrown weeds, and you will find life hanging on.
What does this mean in relation to ministry?
The first garden represents the people who we are meeting now and just getting to know. They are the ones who the Holy Spirit directs us to speak to. We are to give with them spiritual food that the Lord shows us to share. We are do practical things like get their names and numbers if we don’t have them, and then continue to encourage them. We may not see much of a result for a while, but that does not mean nothing is happening. See in the Spirit! Be encouraged that your work does not return void. Keep encouraging and praying for these people and you will get growth.
The second garden represents your disciples you have right now. Just because they look like they are doing well, does not mean you can neglect them. Spring is a time when weeds grow quickly, and so the same can happen with the spiritual tares in a person’s life (Tares are an injurious weed resembling wheat when its young -Matt. 13:24–30). Continue to love and nurture your disciples. Pull weeds by knowing what is happening in their lives and help them to walk strong in the Lord. The gardener who is watching and tending his garden sees the new weeds right away and can get rid of them. Know that the Word of God is a great weed killer!
The third garden represents the people who we have lost. We think they are lost, but not necessarily. As the Lord leads you, go back and make connections with these people. Look past what they have been doing, and see in the Spirit to what is in their heart. There still may be life there. If so, lovingly begin to encourage and minister to them. Draw them back slowly. If you nurture them, you will see them come back to life and begin to grow again.
Are you ready to get your hands dirty? The work looks hard, but you are called to have the most wonderful garden on the block! You will not have to do this on your own. God will give you supernatural tools to use. Don’t use the tools that the world uses. Use His tools, and the work will be easy, because you are yoked up with Jesus. He has the coolest power tools around, and he will teach you to use each one of them. You will have a spectacular garden that gives off a heavenly fragrance, with beauty and fruit, more than you could ever imagine. How fun!
