Life in His Garden

Life in His Garden

Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being. [I Cor. 15:45-49.] And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden [delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed (framed, constituted). And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired–good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life also in the center of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of [the difference between] good and evil and blessing and calamity. [Rev. 2:7; 22:14, 19.] And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17 AMP)

This past Sunday within his sermon my pastor spoke about God's original design for man. He talked about how God’s original design is laid out in the beginning of Genesis. After some thought about the past week and events that have occurred not necessarily bad, but bad was how I viewed them in the moment. I begin to see how over the last few years God has placed me in His Garden of Eden.

When I gave my life to Christ 6 years ago (as of 6/29!!!); I didn't fully give everything to Him. There were bits and pieces of my life given to Him, a few stumbles, traps that I walked into and some regrets yet He still continued to draw me to the garden. This is the place where He places us and if we do what we are supposed to do, it allows God to do His part and fulfill His promises to us. Can He fulfill His promises without us doing our part? YUP! He’s just that good. But the fact of Him being so great is what should drive us to please HIM; instead of steadily holding out our hands for our desires while offering NOTHING on return in the way of fulfilling His.

Two years ago I begin to fully seek to have true relationship with and obedience to God in every area of my life. Longing to fulfill the void that many of us have spent years trying to fulfill through status, men, women, having children, partying, drugs, sex, money, careers, degrees, marriage, acquiring things, titles and the list goes on and on. All while claiming to be Christians, yet never fully seeking fulfillment in Christ. These things come with many consequences of debt, being out of timing, hurt, disease, sorrow and this list too goes on and on. Now this is not to throw stones because clearly I said WE! If there is uneasiness from the previous statements, know that it is only conviction from the Holy Spirit seeking for your enlightenment and your heart to draw near. As I always say there is but one who has perfected this walk, yet we all should be seeking His will.

(V7)Dust to me equates to dirt, starting out with the dirt from our past can leave A LOT for God to clean up. As the Holy Spirit breathes life into our nostrils we become a living soul. And then God plants a garden, a place for us to dwell and puts us there. (V8)When we start off in the garden it may not seem like such a fabulous place at all. This is because we've spent so much time outside of God’s garden; we take on a worldly view of what it's supposed to look like. Yet there are many provisions God has given us in this space. For myself there has been promotion, opportunity to grow and use the gifts He has given me, ability to help others in their time of need, joy, peace, forgiveness and so much more. Those who are still focused on "stuff" who may not be where I am may view it as luck, those who have more "stuff" may view it as not so blessed. Yet all blessings are not defined by stuff, but by supernatural provision to live above where you have been and excel on the level you are currently. Some of us smack dab in the middle of God’s garden right now and haven't even stopped to look at the beautiful tress with growing fruit = opportunities, health, godly friendships/relationships, spiritual growth, daily provisions, etc. that are in our lives. Basically, everything we NEED at THIS stage. Yet we focus on the things that have not yet been provided. We have yet to allow God to fully turn things around in our lives including ourselves. For where you are right now you have everything you need…How are you using it?

(V15) Our job in the garden is to tend to and take care of it. We do this by submitting to God's will, changing the direction of our lives, giving our bodies as a sacrifice to Him, seizing opportunities to bless, learning how to forgive, and helping others seek Christ and fulfill His will freely. There is no toil or need for wicked gain here because God provides everything we need along the way. When we are able to clearly discern this we can remain in the garden. (V17) The only thing that God calls us to refrain from is the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; if we do we will surely DIE. To me eating the fruit of this tree represents KNOWING RIGHT and DOING WRONG!!!!!  One definition of the word “die” means “to end life in a specified state or condition”. When we know right yet do wrong it begins a spiral of death to living a godly lifestyle and being in the Garden of Eden/presence of God. We die because we are ashamed of the things we have done and hide from His presence; which is what I went through in the many years before I truly began to commit my life to Christ. Hiding from Him and continuing to eat from the tree of knowing right but doing wrong to satisfy current desires.

Genesis chapter 3 shows us that though the garden is a beautiful place that God put us in, there WILL be temptation/opportunity to sin. A temptation/opportunity to settle for less than what you deserve, go back to old ways, be angry, shack up, gossip, fornicate, waste time, be distracted and so on. Again this is NOT to throw stones, because we have all been there in one form or another. But there is also an option in these times of temptation to seek God about these opportunities and ask for His wisdom in knowing what option is right in His eyes and then following through with it.  If you have read Genesis 1-2, you know that man was first alone focusing on the tasks he had been given by God. So, this has nothing to do with pointing out what others are doing, but aligning YOUR PERSONAL LIFE with what God is calling YOU to do.

2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that we have already been given everything we need to live a godly life. So don't think that you can do it on your own. It is only with Him that we can obtain the things that we need. At this time you may be in the garden thinking that things don't seem so great, but remember there is a lot of dirt in the form of old habits, ways, thought patterns, etc that HAVE to be cleaned up!!! Where those things were God wants to place His godly mindset and outlook. As my pastor says there is a process that we go through in maintaining a godly lifestyle.

Again, man was originally alone in the garden, so don't fret if everything or everyone seems to be changing or doors are being closed for a time or for good. This is the time for you to seek God and allow Him to work on you. Forget about what anybody else is doing, and understand this is your time to be in the garden ALONE. Doesn't mean you become a recluse, but it does mean you may have to become a little more selective about what you allow in and how you spend your time. Lastly, DO NOT pull out your measuring stick, stop watch or any other device trying to dictate or measure exactly where you are going to be at a certain time. God can push you past a certain stage or He can hold you back, we have to begin to trust that He is the author of time and NOT us or anyone else in this world. Be at peace in the stage you are in. When you don't feel peace, it's ok to cry BUT THEN pick up His word, renew your mind and pray ACCORDING to HIS promises NOT your own selfish desires.

As your life in the garden continues stay focused on the things God has for you to do. It is in that focus that you begin to be thankful, see supernatural provision and view Life in the Garden properly.


Reminders:
Keep your eyes on Christ: Proverbs 4:25; Hebrews 12:1-4

Study God's original plan for man and allow Him to align your life with it: Genesis 1-2

Remember it's a revolving process and not an overnight success story:  2 Peter 1:5-8

R.T. ~The light that shines through~

Contact me at RadiantTransparency@gmail.com

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© 2014, Robin I. Taylor. All rights reserved. Originally published at

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