Message: The message I got today was in more of a symbolic form, but it has a very practical message. As I read in Genesis 2 about the one river in the garden of Eden that watered the garden, I became hyper-focused on verse 10. Verse 10 tells us the that the purpose of that river was to water the garden, but it split 4 ways from there and became the source of 4 major rivers that supplied water to 4 major cities. With the understanding that water is life, it hit me hard as I really thought about the implications of that in our lives spiritually. The garden represents out time with God. It is the place where God walked on the earth with Adam and Eve and spent time with them. When we spend time with God and soak ourselves with the word like the one river did in the garden, that one river will supply water (life) to other areas. Not only I our own lives, but everywhere we go.
Command: Go to the “garden” every day and soak in the word. The purpose is for myself, and that purpose has to be primary in this, but the results will benefit others beyond my imagination.
Promise: When I care for the garden and spend time in it, I will flourish and grow. When I flourish and grow, I will be able to lead others to the same water source by bringing it with me wherever I go.
Warning: If I am not spending time in the garden, the waters will dry up and I will have nothing to offer but my own thoughts and experiences. Those do not provide life and can cause much more harm than good.
Application: This is a reminder to me of how important my time in the garden is. The part that I really sat on this morning was the realization that the primary purpose of the river in the garden was to water the garden. Four other rivers came from that one water source, but that didn’t change the primary purpose of that river. My time in the garden is not for anyone else, but myself. This time waters my own heart so I can be fruitful and healthy, BUT the fruit of that time I spend will also be fruitful to other people. The things I pull out of these devotionals are for me to live out. I can’t write these devotionals with anyone else in mind. It is for me to ponder and allow God to work in my heart, but I pray that what I share from my time in the garden brings nourishment that leads others to the source.
