“Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
I spent about $23 constructing a PVC pipe tent and covered it with a large tarp to go over the front garden in order to shield the split-leaf philodendrons from the cold weather back in 2020. All week long, I watched the snow and ice pile up on top of the structure I made and wondered if it was shelter enough to protect the plants. It was not, sadly, all the plants died. It just got way too cold for them to survive.
We are like the split-leaf philodendrons. We are planted in a spot, and as we grow and flourish under the right conditions, we become strong and bold. Under the right conditions, we can grow and spread out over a large area and become something everyone admires and pauses to look at. While the right conditions are optimal for growth, we all experience the wrong conditions to survive in as well, conditions we are not meant to withstand. Conditions where nearly everything around us dies, succumbing to the cold and elements. Friendships perish, faith perishes, grace is no longer given, mercy has been shoved to the wayside, and treating people like we would like to be treated has been replaced with selfish motives and actions. In other words, you are experiencing the death of faith and love in Christ in your life because you can no longer give it.
We can all flourish under the right conditions, and it starts with planting yourself in the house of the Lord. Psalm 92 assures us that if we spend our time getting to know God through His Word and the church, we will be fruitful in old age, healthy, and flourishing.
The cold will come again, and the elements will challenge our plants to survive, just like life will get tough and challenge your beliefs. But if you are planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish in the courts of our God. My little PVC shelter was not good enough to shield the plants from the cold, just like your own wisdom will never be enough for survival. Reach for the Lord and His counsel in all things, and you cannot help but grow. It is only when you grow large that you begin to shelter and teach those around you. Stay in Jesus every day, and you will grow.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we stay planted in the house of the Lord and feed on Your Word every day. I pray that we will never use the world’s wisdom to explain anything but rather use the wisdom of the Lord, given to us by the Holy Spirit, to rightly move and live in this fallen world. I pray that we stay focused on You and fill our hearts with Your promises so we can be prepared when the enemy comes to freeze us out. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
Leave a comment