By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

As I was reading this morning (of my birthday,) I was reminded that God is continually at work in my life even when I don’t see him.

You have everything you need to live a flourishing life in Christ. This doesn’t mean you’ll always see or even feel the flourishing, but when your roots run deep and your foundation is built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, the only possible result is a Spirit-led flourishing. This is something the world doesn’t understand, but it’s something it wants nonetheless.

Becoming a Well Watered Woman in a Parched World by Gretchen Saffles. YouVersion Bible Plan

With my last post speaking about being rooted and grounded in God’s love, it was kind of ironic that this plan spoke in the perspective of gardening. Sometimes we are in a planting phase, sometimes we are in a tending phase, and some times we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. Each phase is important for our growth, yet in each phase it is God who causes the growth.

Who am I, and who is Apollos, that we should be the cause of a quarrel? Why, we’re just God’s servants, each of us with certain special abilities, and with our help you believed. My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos’ work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts. The person who does the planting or watering isn’t very important, but God is important because he is the one who makes things grow.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (TLB)

Even Paul recognizes this idea that growth comes from God and not through our efforts. Yet, he doesn’t negate the role of working in the garden. So often we are torn between the two paradigms of work and grace. Paul tells us more in this passage that everything we build needs to be on the foundation of Jesus Christ in order to last, (verse 11.)

When we ask Jesus into our heart the Spirit begins the process of transformation, of growing. The seed is planted with the promise that he will finish his work in the garden of our heart.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (AMP)

Are you laboring in your life without God? It’s an easy ask to bring him in and glean the fruit of his Spirit. Are you working hard and forgetting your foundation? Maybe it’s time to look at your life with a new perspective. Are you wondering when the fruit will come? All I can say is have faith and be patient. Sometimes we grow slowly.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy