“The LORD will guide you continually. 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.” Isa.58:11
Lord Jesus, I’m not awesome at gardening, but you are. In my years of backyard horticulture, I’ve managed to cross pollinate different plants and have “harvested” “cucaloupes” (cucumber + cantaloupe) and “cantamelons” (cantaloupe + watermelon)—all inedible. But you never promised to make us great gardeners, but“ well-watered gardens.” Hallelujah, thank you, please do so in our hearts and churches. We’d love to exist for the nourishing and flourishing of others.
Jesus, you are the quintessential Gardener—framing all of history between two great gardens: The Garden of Eden (Gen.1-2), and our coming life in the Garden City of the new heaven and new earth (Rev.21-22). And now you are both the primary Sower and the glorious Seed (Mark 20:1-20)—sowing the wonders and riches of the Gospel in us and through us.
The ultimate “harvest” is guaranteed and beyond our ability to grasp and count (Rev.7). The earth will be filled with your glory, grace, and beauty. And your every-nation Bride will be as numerous as stars, sand, and dust (Gen.12-17). What a powerful, loving, and generous Savior you are.
But you’re not just the Sower, Seed, and Gardener, Jesus. You are the giver of Living Water—passionately appealing to our relentless thirst. You promise to release artesian springs of water in us, gushing up in our hearts for our refreshment and the blessing of others (John 4:14; 7:38; Rev. 21:6). Into a dry and weary land where there is no water—you send us, plant us, and grow us. And Hallelujah, your “waters never fail.” So Very Amen.
