PROVERBS 24:30-34 – “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
THEME OF THE DAY: KEEPING UP THE GARDEN OF OUR HEART. Where did the fall of humanity occur? Where was the place sin entered the world and our separation with God happened? Notice I asked the where not the who. It was in a garden – the Garden of Eden. Where did our Lord Jesus encounter tremendous attacks from His flesh and the devil? Where was the place He prayed so intensely, He sweat drops of blood? It was in a garden – the Garden of Gethsemane.
In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the Lord likens His people to a vineyard and it was a vineyard not kept up; a garden left alone that became overgrown with sin. Here is the sad account –
“Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” (Isaiah 5:1-7).
The scripture of the day from the wisdom book of Proverbs takes us into another garden scene. It isn’t pretty. A vineyard or garden neglected. What was expected was a fruitful garden, but what it became was a warning of what neglect will do – a fruitless garden and dishonoring to its owner.
Our spiritual lives are centered on our hearts, and we may liken our hearts to a spiritual garden. It must be nourished, protected, and guarded against the weeds of tolerated sin, worldliness, and spiritual indifference. These ugly weeds will prevent the loveliness of God’s Fruit of His Spirit from blooming in our hearts and putting forth the Lord Jesus from our lives – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
So, let’s tend the gardens of our hearts! We do so by keeping the weeds out of it so God’s Spirit may do His good work in us!
PRAYER: Lord, help me to keep the garden of my heart free from the weeds of worldliness taking root.
REFLECTION: There is never a day we cannot guard our hearts against things hindering the Spirit’s work.