I absolutely love flowers and the idea of gardening so much. We have a small yard, but I have dug up a lot of ground to plant the beautiful things that we now enjoy – a couple of red maple trees, three blueberry bushes, two blackberry bushes, a few rose bushes… and more. Each time that I’ve dug into the ground to prepare the soil for planting, I have also dug up a lot of rocks—small rocks, medium rocks, large rocks, and one ginormous rock! I quickly learned that no matter where I dug in my yard, I would always find rocks of various sizes. Despite the annoyance of finding this excessive number of rocks, my great desire to remake my backyard into something beautiful was always greater than the lengthy task of preparing the soil, even knowing it was full of rocks!
As we come up on month ELEVEN (yay!) of Speaking and Praying Scripture I feel like my life has been the soil, infiltrated with sinful rocks, that God, in His great love for me, has a plan for remaking into something beautiful. Just as I would reach down in determination to uncover and eventually dig up each rock so I could plant something beautiful, God has been reaching down and uncovering and digging up ‘rocks’ in my life to make something beautiful out of me. You likely remember my blog post from last month where God addressed the sinful nature of my tongue. I think God worked more in my life in the past month while speaking and praying these scriptures and meditating on them than He has in the other months combined.My attitude shifted from wanting to merely stop my behavior to wanting to glorify God through my behavior.
1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
This redirection was not my own doing, but the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. And let’s be honest, the Holy Spirit’s work is not done. Through His kindness and mercy, He uncovered this very ungodly rock in my life and has begun the good work to remake it into something beautiful. This uncomfortable yet necessary work in our Christian life is called sanctification. In very simple terms, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to remake the ungodly parts of our life godly. Since we are sinful creatures, this calls us to walk by the Spirit, so we do not carry out the temptations of our flesh – as was my case that I shared in October, the sin-nature of my tongue.
Galatians 5:16-17 I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
I hope my husband and children can testify that there has been slow but intentional change happening with minding my tongue – less of me matching my children’s temper when they blow up, a little more disciplining with a gentle tone instead of a harsh or shameful tone, and hopefully less accusatory statements directed my husband’s way when I’m irritable. I’m far from perfect at any of these. In fact, I know my family would say I’m still a work-in-progress, but this big sinful rock in my life is not buried as deep as it used to be. God, in His great love and kindness, has reached down and uncovered this ‘rock’ and has begun the work to dig it up.
Romans 6:15, 22 What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not! 22 …Since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification – and the outcome is eternal life!
I know that the soil of my life will never be completely rock free until the day that I enter into eternity and all my sins are washed away for good, but I also know that while I am here on Earth and walking in step with the Holy Spirit, God will continue to reach down and uncover and dig up sin in my life and this is a good thing! Is it uncomfortable? Absolutely. Discouraging sometimes? Yes. Is it worth it? One hundred percent! If I hadn’t uncovered and removed the rocks from my yard, we wouldn’t be able to have the beautiful trees and plants that I enjoy so much. My yard would be dull, lacking character, beauty, and hope, and quite literally, there would be no fruit! The rocks would have inhibited their growth. In the same way we need God to uncover and remove the sinful rocks from our lives so we can grow in the life that God has planned for us and bear His fruit. Sin in our life, left undealt with, will inhibit our growth.
Do you have a heart that wants to grow and learn more about God? If so, I encourage you to pray this heartfelt prayer with me this month:
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
Friends and family that have spent time in our backyard typically notice the many rocks that line our flower beds and trees. That is when the grass is mowed, and you can see them, of course. When they ask me where I got all my rocks, I’m all too eager to share with them that it was through blood, sweat, and tears…okay… just sweat, determination and perseverance, that I dug up all those rocks out of the ground. The very rocks that threatened to inhibit the growth and beauty of our yard now adorn our yard and have become a testament to the work of the creator. Sin in our life is much the same. Rocks that threaten to inhibit the growth and beauty of our lives, when dug up and redeemed, become a testament to the work of our Creator God and His great love for us.
Now, I’m sure by this point if you have never been to my house, you might imagine that my yard is full of flowers and plants and overflowing with beauty. You might even think it is large, professionally mowed, and always has fruit. It’s not. In truth, it is small and simple, and you might find nothing wonderful about it at all. But as the creator, if you will, of my yard, I lovingly disagree. Why? Because I am looking at it with different eyes. When I look at my yard, I see three things: what it once was, what it is now, and what it could become. Understanding this point of view is essential for understanding the heart behind it.
For the last six months I have been meeting with a sweet college girl. When we kicked off the fall semester of school, she had the great idea to memorize Psalm 139. So far, I have memorized the first six verses which read:
“LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.”
Meditating on this scripture has been so impactful. Do you know what I see when I read these verses? I see a God that pursues me because of His great love for me. A God that has known me, not just knows me right now. A God that understands me when I feel complicated or hormonal. A God that knows what I’m going to say before I say it. A God that surrounds me with His presence and places his hand on me. (October connection: Makes sense that He can ‘Set up a guard for my mouth and keep watch at the door of my lips’ since he knows all about what I want to say before a word even gets to my tongue! Psalm 141:3).
When I am reading, speaking, or praying these six verses I feel so comforted. Think about it. A God who pursues, knows, understands, guards, surrounds, protects, and touches me with His love is a God that I can trust when He reaches down into my life to continue His good work of making something beautiful out of me. Me with imperfections. Me with rocks of all sizes in my soil. Why? Because He is our Creator-God and He loves us so much that He sent his only son into the world to save us from eternal death.
Psalm 139:13 For it was you who created my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.
John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
If I, the creator of my yard, with its imperfections, simplicity, and small size, look upon it with love and admiration, regardless of what anyone else thinks, how much more does my Creator-God look at me with love and admiration, regardless of what I or anyone else thinks? He alone can fully look at the soil of my life and see three things: what I once was, what I am now, and what I could become. And yet, He loves me still.
Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.
Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven! His faithful love endures forever.
As previously stated, understanding this point of view – our Creator-God’s view of us – is essential for understanding His heart for us. Friends, just as I would reach down in determination to uncover and eventually dig up rocks so I could plant something beautiful, God wants to reach down, uncover, and dig up rocks in your life – and my life – because He wants to plant something beautiful in you. While it may sound scary, intimidating, or just simply not fun to dig up and remove these rocks, it is necessary work for spiritual growth in our life.
Titus 2:11 – 14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.
What rocks in your life need to be dug up?
What area of your life does God need to redeem?
Whether you can’t think of any rocks right now, or are like me and feel like the list is never-ending, don’t be discouraged. When you speak and pray these scriptures with us this month, just remember that it is not in your own strength or best effort that you dig up rocks in your life because you aren’t the Creator of your life. God is. Our job is to surrender our life to Him, and join Him in the process as He lovingly, and mercifully, reveals and redeems each rock in our life, knowing that it is His faithful love that will complete His good work in you. Is it uncomfortable? Absolutely. Discouraging sometimes? Yes. Is it worth it? One hundred percent! Why? Because He has good plans for you to remake you into something beautiful. Something that looks a little bit more like Him.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Philippians 1:6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
As always, remember You are Not Alone! In Him, we have Resurrection Hope!
See below for November Speaking and Praying Scriptures. You can access FREE PDFs of all Speaking and Praying Scriptures here and print your own copy to begin Speaking and Praying Scripture today!
November
1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
PRAYER:
Dear God, You are a good, good Father that loves us so much. Thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins so that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead we will be saved.
Thank you, God, that you love us with an everlasting and faithful love. Help us to love others with our words and actions, knowing that we love because you first loved us. God, I ask that you specifically help us have Christ-like love for ________. God, we thank you that you reveal our sin to us and redeem us and make us into something beautiful. Search our hearts, LORD. Dig up sin in our life and lead us in your everlasting way so we can look a little bit more like you.
We know that your plans for us are often different than the plans we have for ourselves, but we trust you and your good plans for our life to redeem us and give us Resurrection Hope. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit in our life so we can know that we are truly Not Alone.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
NOT ALONE MINISTRIES 
This is a beautiful analogy of God working in our lives!
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