119. The Plants along the Riverbank. Which one are you?

I’ve been feeling this pull from the Lord lately, it’s an undeniable feeling. One of needing to step up in certain areas of my life, to take big chances, make big changes, and to have an even bigger faith. The Lord has been bringing a sweet conviction over me. Literally. As many of you know, sugar has been the one thing that I’ve held onto. Giving up alcohol, easy; giving up pot, easy; giving up gambling, easy; giving up sugar....woah Lord. It’s been a year long attempt. 

Ephesians 2:22-24 - 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth

You all that have been following my blogs since the beginning know my struggle and know how many times the Lord has brought this up to me. Last night brought a deeper conviction. As I was watching a live worship service, I gently raised my hands in praise. As I did, I saw what appeared to be a rushing waterfall coming down from my ceiling, flooding my living room. Instantly, I was pulled into a vision from the Lord. I could see that gorgeous waterfall off in the distance. It’s force was constant, cleansing and pure. I could smell the fresh misty air. I could feel the sun on my face and the comforting warmth. I noticed that I was standing along the riverbank. The water was the clearest, bluest, most pure water that I have ever seen. The white foam from the base of the waterfall traveled downstream bringing this ambient white glow that mixed with the blue. The colors were the most vibrant colors that I have ever experienced. Although I’m sure I say that almost every time. 

Revelation 22:17 - And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The Lord drew my gaze to the bank of the river. For the entire length of the river, different plants were lined up along the bank. They stretched for as far as I could see. What I immediately noticed was the variety of their conditions. Some were dry and withered. Which didn’t make sense to me, you see, they were right next to the water. They were right in the path of the sun. There really was no reason for some of those plants to be in such terrible condition. Others were vibrant and green, flourishing in this environment and blooming with gorgeous flowers. Some were tall fruit bearing trees. I saw apples, pears and oranges. Some were like vines of poison ivy, crawling along the bank brining harm to those that get too close. Another thing that caught my eye was that the dying plants were often times right next to the ones that flourished. I’d see a beautiful pear tree with the ripest fruit. Then, right next to it, you’d see a brown withered pear tree with low hanging fruit that was beginning to rot. All of a sudden, I felt a rushing wind. The wind blew all the dried leaves away. It blew the low hanging fruit off of the trees, the dried flower petals swirling in the sky as they’re carried off into the distance. Anything that didn’t have strong roots was simply removed in this swift, loving but forceful wind.

Then the Lord spoke with love and conviction “which plant would you be, Ash?” 

My heart sank. To be honest, I’m not sure. I believe that I’m a good plant and that I produce good fruit, but what we consider good on this earth, often times has no value at all in the kingdom of Heaven. I also believe that depending on who you talk to from my past, there have been times when I could have been described as poison ivy. Others that know me could consider me a rose bush, others a fruit bearing tree. But what really matters, isn’t how others view you, it’s not even how you view yourself. It’s how the Lord views you. We can pretend to be the prettiest flower, but if we have no strength in our roots, it’s just for show. The petals will eventually fade and be blown away. What kind of tree are you when everything in this world is blown away? What kind of tree are you when no one is looking at you? When it’s just you, your flaws and the Lord; what kind of tree would you be?

Then the Lord put this on my heart. The Lord will pour out his spirit equally to each and everyone of us. His pour is equal over every person on this planet. He is the living water, the rushing waterfall. We all have equal access to His living water. We can take a drink any time we need to be refreshed. He is also the living son, in this case sun, the very sun that is the bread of life for these plants. We all have equal access to the warmth of His gaze being directly focused on each and every one of us; to be fed by His presence. To feel the warmth of His embrace. The Holy Spirit is the wind. Without His swift purification, we will never be pruned to flourish properly. We will hang on to the dead fruits, dried flowers and withering leaves. We need the Holy Spirits breath of fresh air, not only in our lungs, but pruning and purifying our souls in the process of sanctification to align with our Spirit. You see, when we are born again, our spirits are sanctified in Christ. It’s our souls, which consist of our mind, our will and our emotions, that need to be consecrated and put through the process of sanctification. This is where many give up and fall away.

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:” 

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 17:17 - Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

The difference, He put on my heart, was in the root systems of these plants. They are all given equal access to the water. In the same way that we all have the opportunity to experience the salvation of Jesus Christ by acknowledging that He is our Lord and Savior, that He died on the cross for our sins as the final spotless blood sacrifice, and that He was supernaturally resurrected three days later. However, it’s up to the individual root system of the plant and the plants ability to absorb the water offered, that will decide the fate of each individual plant. It is up to each and every one of us to decide how deep our roots will grow. The plant next to you can’t save you. The plant down the road can’t share it’s salvation with you. Even the plant sitting there in church can’t be responsible for wether or not your root system is drinking. It’s up to each of us. The Lord can put our roots in His living water, but He won’t force us to drink. 

Revelation 22:1 - And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Isaiah 12:3 - Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

John 4:14 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Colossians 1:10 - That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God

This brought conviction to me regarding what the Lord has been putting on my heart for a while. I’m speaking as a mother, but I’m sure fathers can relate to this as well. For a while now the Lord has been prodding me to take better care of myself. To drink the water instead of the pop, to eat better, to take more walks and to spend more time in the word alone with Him. To give up sugar. I’ve been too busy putting everyone and everything else first. The kids, my work, the household chores, the dog. There are days when it will be 10pm and I’ll realize that I haven’t eaten or drank anything at all that day. There are times like today when I try to write and end up cleaning up messes, making lunches, and an hour to blog turns into 3 hours to get two paragraphs written. While I’m thankful for my children, my job that helps to pay the bills, and the roof over my head; how often do we spend all of our time focused on this world only to realize that we have had zero alone time with the Lord, we haven’t showered, and we have 3 hours left before we have to get up for work and do it all over again?  

John 15:16 - Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

James 3:17 - But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

What the Lord put on my heart is that even times like this can cause a few withered leaves, it can cause part of your root system to dry up. It can affect our fruit, it can affect our growth, and it can affect the way we represent the living water that we drink. Some may see a withered plant and blame the person who was supposed to water it, other times they blame the person for not providing enough sunlight. However, if we are all given equal water and equal sunlight, the only other difference, really, is the environment that we create for ourselves to grow. We are responsible for changing our own environment and creating one that is kingdom centered. We are responsible for spending time in the word, for taking that daily drink, for soaking in the sun, and for what parts of us the wind is able to blow away.  Create an environment that inspires growth. Create an environment centered on the word. Create a temple for the Holy Spirit within yourself. We have all heard the saying that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Strong roots that are centered on the word, will fill your cup. He can place our roots in the water but He can’t make them drink!! 

Romans 12:1-2 - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Peter 4:1-2 - Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

Romans 6:11-14 - Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.