December 22, 2023

I had resigned to abandon a portion of my vegetable garden because it was too shady. I had decided to fill that particular section with bromeliads because they love the shade, and it would bring beauty to that portion of the garden. However, to my surprise, my husband saw what I was doing and decided to cut down the trees blocking the sun so that the area would again become useful for vegetables and other food-bearing plants. Don’t get me wrong, I love a shade tree, especially here in Florida, where the heat can be atrocious, but some things will not grow or prosper in the shade.

God calls on us to circumcise our hearts by cutting out the sinful things that block his light. We cannot grow in him or prosper in life if we continue in the evil ways of society. We must renounce such behavior and turn to him for abundant life. If we don’t change and continue in the ways of the world, we will stagnate like the puny plants I was trying to grow in the shade. By the way, before Richard cut down the trees, I had moved those tiny plants into one of the new sections of my garden, which is in full sun, and those plants are beginning to thrive. It’s time to cut down the trees in the garden of your soul so the Lord can shine through to help you grow and prosper. “We must return to God from all that which stands in opposition to him or competition with him.” Matthew Henry

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16