SIGNS OF PROBLEMS
When springtime comes around, even in Florida, something inside me just comes to life and I want to run out to the nursery and buy all kinds of annuals: marigolds, impatiens, petunias, and pansies and begin beautifying our yard. If I am really energetic I will get the manure, the peat and the humus and mix it all up with the soil and plant my little plants in just the right sized hole and pack the dirt around just right. I will make sure they have got just the right amount of sun and shade and water. But sometimes all I do is just not enough. Occasionally, just when I think my plants are doing great, I find my pretty flowers are having some problems. They have become diseased; their buds are dropping off and their leaves are wilting. Then I realize I have neglected to take care of the pests. Sometimes the pests are microscopic little creatures that live in the soil and raise havoc with plants. Other times it is pests above the ground. Whichever type it is, if you want to have a thriving garden and a bountiful harvest, it is mandatory that you get rid of the pests that love to destroy your harvest. Nothing squashes (no pun intended) our joy quicker than seeing something we put a lot of time and effort into, flop.

EXTERMINATING THE PESTS
We can have pests raise havoc in our spiritual garden as well. I call them joy robbers. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. How do we get rid of things that have been rooted in our hearts for years? The lamp of the Lord searches out our inner most being (Proverbs 20:27). As you meditate on God's word He will gently search out those places. Be willing to respond to Him. There are many who are resistant to sharing, even with God, their inner most thoughts. But God desires truth in the inward places. Let Him shine the light of His truth into those hidden places of your heart. He is waiting for you to pour out your heart like water before Him. Tell your Wonderful Counselor all the things that have burdened you: your hurts, your disappointments, your fears, and your concerns. God's ear is always attentive to His childrens' cry and His heart is always responsive to their needs.

Unfortunately, hardened hearts bear the fruit of sinfulness: prideful attitudes, sharp tongues, controlling behaviors, defensive postures, and judgmental thoughts just to name a few. Jeremiah 4:3-4 says "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns." If you want God's word to take root in your heart you must be willing to look at and break up the hardened soil. God gives us a great remedy for sin: prayer and confession. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to each other, pray for each other and receive healing. One of Satan's craftiest lies is to convince us that if we share our real pain, struggles and sin then we will be ostracized, shamed, or looked down upon. But God designed the Body of Christ to be a place of healing. He has placed trustworthy people in the body who will pray with you, for you and demonstrate loving compassion to you. There is a lot of unfinished business in the Body of Christ that is yet to be resolved. Becoming a new creation in Christ does not take care of all our past pain and dysfunction, but it does equip us to deal with the past so God's glory will shine ever brighter through our lives.

It is not just the things in our past that can raise havoc in our spiritual gardens it is also things present. Mark 4:18-19 tells us the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. We need to be constantly pulling weeds by bringing our thoughts and desires in line with the word of God. The greatest blessings in our lives will come when we surrender our control, our worries, and our desires to God and instead ask for His blessings and believe that what God wants for us is far greater than anything we could ever desire for ourselves. If you do these things then you will reap a harvest of joy.

THE LAW VERSUS THE SPIRIT
The final joy robber is living by the law and not by the Spirit of God. In Galatians 4:15 Paul asks them, "What has happened to all your joy?" Paul is reminding them of the absolute joy and freedom they experienced when they were first saved and received the Spirit of God. He reminds them they did not receive the Spirit through the law but through faith in Christ. Gradually, the Galatians backslid and once again began to depend on their human efforts instead of the Spirit. We are just as prone to depend on our own flesh to accomplish God's work as the Galatians were. But God's work can only be accomplished by the Spirit. We need to move beyond doing and into being. Serving and doing in an effort to satisfy the requirements of the law is fruitless. Doing robs us of our joy because we can never do enough to be good enough. Christ's joy was made complete in His relationship with the Father.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is for Freedom that Christ has set you free! Stand firm in your freedom (Galatians 5:1). Elijah lost his joy for a time in this way. He had such a zeal for God's truth; he worked very hard doing the Lord's work. In fact, he worked so hard he became exhausted and utterly discouraged and ran away. He ended up collapsing under a broom tree and crying out to the Lord that he wanted to die. Elijah lost sight of his true calling to be a servant of God. Instead he tried to carry the load by making God's work his own. Elijah worked hard busting false prophets and when God didn't do what he expected him to do, he became discouraged. Elijah was God's servant and so are we. Just like Elijah, we are to find our joy in doing what the Lord has called us to do and trust Him with the results (1 Kings 19:1-18.) Obedience that grows from the root of duty and the law bears the fruit of resentment and rebellion. Obedience that grows from the root of Jesse, who is Jesus Christ, bears the fruit of joy.

Whether you are growing an earthly garden or a spiritual garden, a beautiful garden requires constant tending. If you want joy to abound in your life, break up the hardened areas of your heart by taking care of unfinished business. Dig up the weeds of covetousness, worries and worldly desires. Keep your eyes and your heart fixed on God, and depend on the Spirit of God to accomplish His work, His way.

Copyright © 2001 Alan and Jean LeStourgeon