Flourish: Creating Space to ThriveSample

Creating Room to Thrive

As I mentioned in the previous devotion, our garden grows on the side of a hill. At the time of this writing, my handy hubby is rebuilding our existing raised beds and adding a few more. Our long-term plan includes a total of nine beds—three rows of three beds stepping down the hill with little walkways and small stairsteps in between. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

As soon as he finished the first two beds, I headed straight to our neighborhood nursery for seedlings to plant an herb garden. I couldn’t wait to get them into our fresh soil.

Perusing the aisles of herbs, I selected some common ones—basil, dill, sage. I also grabbed a few unusual beauties—fragrant lemon verbena, African blue basil, and a pineapple sage with bright red flowers.

Then I noticed the lemongrass. I love its flavor in Thai food, so I put the tiny plant in my cart and made my way to the checkout.

Back home, I carefully placed the seedlings in my new garden beds. Everything looked perfect.

What I didn’t know is that lemongrass doesn’t stay small. As the weeks passed, the plant grew bigger and bigger until it threatened to take over half of the garden bed. The neighboring verbena, hidden in its shadow, sent out spindly branches in search of the sun.

Eventually, the lemongrass became so large I had to give it a pot of its own. What a difference this move made. The herbs that struggled to grow in its shadow could now bask in the sun and soak up water and nutrients.

I learned an important lesson through this process. If I want a thriving garden, each plant needs plenty of space.

Sometimes my life feels like an overcrowded garden–full of lots of good things, each simple enough on its own, but together they can become suffocating. Some days, I find I’m so used to running busy it’s hard to be still when I have the opportunity. I feel weary to my core as I try to keep up with life’s demands.

Like the verbena plant, I’m surviving, but just barely. Maybe someday life will slow down, and I’ll know what it’s like to thrive. Meanwhile, my inner life is shriveling because I’ve failed to leave room for the things which feed my soul.

Maybe you can relate?

Jesus spoke to this human struggle when He walked our planet. He noticed busy Martha (Luke 10:38-42). He had compassion on the downcast crowds (Matthew 9:36). He called out to the weary, inviting them to trade their burdens for His rest. His invitation still rings true today.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not heavy to carry” (Matthew 11:28-30 NET).

Come. Take. Learn. Find.

These action words center on relationship. Come to Him. Take His yoke. Learn from Him. Find rest through knowing Him.

As we experience His rest and discover the beauty of His heart, we learn to trust Him. Christianity, at its core, is a relationship of trust. It begins at salvation, when we first believe in Christ, and deepens throughout life as we get to know Him better and experience His faithfulness.

Trust is an interesting word in the Bible. According to Lexical Aids to the New Testament, one of the Hebrew words for trust is defined as “the sense of well-being which results from knowing that the ‘rug won’t be pulled out from under you.’”1 It’s a confident expectation, the feeling of being safe, a carelessness born from a sense of security.

I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t always characterize my relationship with God. I’m prone to worry more than to pray. I try to fix things before waiting on God. I want a contingency plan just in case He doesn’t come through.

Yet still God is faithful. He’s committed to cultivating my faith. He’s not in a hurry as He continually draws my wandering heart to Himself.

This growth takes time and is cultivated in moments of emotional honesty with God. Repeatedly in Scripture, the people of God describe their struggles as they pour out their hearts to Him. They express their emotions and even their doubts.

Then they make a choice.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5, 11, 43:5 NIV).

Like my little plants in their newly crafted garden beds, our souls need space to flourish. We need unhurried time for communing with God (though this may look different in our various life seasons). We need breathing room to process our emotions honestly and settle our hearts in His trustworthiness. We need His Spirit’s renewal each and every day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Personal Reflection:

As you’re creating your schedule and planning your days, do you consciously leave margin for your soul? Do you live by His gentle guidance or are you driven by duty or shame?

In what ways can you prioritize soul care today?

Prayer of Response:

Lord, I want to know You. Teach me to wait on You, to prioritize stillness, and to listen to Your Spirit’s still, small voice. Remind me to make room for things that feed my soul. Grow my trust and confidence in You. Help me live each day in connected relationship with You.

1#982, Lexical Aids to the Old Testament in the Key Word Study Bible