My husband and I met Scott and Lynn Jackson about ten years ago, soon after they left pastoral ministry to begin serving as missionaries with Churches in Missions. They were serving as prayer leaders for a conference at America’s Keswick. Scott and Lynn care deeply for pastors and their wives, they are faithful prayer warriors, and servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have been blessed by their encouragement in my own life and I am thankful for every time Lynn and I have the opportunity to get together and share what God is doing in our families and ministries. I have observed a beautiful practice of Scott and Lynn as we gone to dinner with them a few times through the years. They always speak kind and gentle words of encouragement to the person who serves us. And they always ask the server how they can pray for them. Very often, the person serving is taken by surprise but opens up and shares something that they are going through in their personal lives. And then Scott and Lynn will pray for the server by name and for the specific requests. It is an amazing thing to experience, and has challenged me to become more sensitive toward the needs of those around me. In January, Lynn and I had the unexpected privilege of facilitating a workshop for pastor’s wives on Psalms and Proverbs, books we are both studying respectively. What a joy and delight it was! I am honored to have Lynn as a friend and co-laborer in serving our Lord Jesus Christ. I know you will be encouraged and challenged by her insight and wisdom.
Are You Bringing Pleasure to the Master Gardner?
by Lynn Jackson
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25
It’s May….a joyous time for any gardener! There is nothing like feeling the soft dirt fall through one’s fingers. This can only come after the gardener has chosen the plot, removed the weeds and broken up the hard soil. May is the beginning of what the gardener has been dreaming and anticipating all winter. What plants he will grow, where he will place them. The anticipation of fruit and who he will bless with the fruit: family, friends and neighbors. And there is always the hope of a bumper crop; to have an abundance of fruit for unexpected guests or people in need. It’s so refreshing to be generous with one’s fruit! This brings great delight to the gardener!
“The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of His delight.” Isaiah 5:7a
Have you ever considere
d the thought of you being a plant in God’s garden of life? Just think of the delight that you could bring Him!
“They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.” Isaiah 60:21b
I long to be a healthy plant in His garden and flourish where He has cleared the ground and planted me in life.
“You brought a vine out of Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground before it. And it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.” Psalm 80:8-11
Can you imagine God’s joy of this healthy flourishing plant? Have you been transplanted by the Master Gardener? Have you accepted where you are and taken root? Are you flourishing in order to provide shade for those passing by or fruit that The Master Gardener may share to refresh those whom He has brought your way? Are you flourishing and healthy so that fruit is being produced in your life? Or are you resisting where He has planted you? Are you refusing to offer shade, even to those in your family who are the closest and perhaps in desperate need?
Often we think of seasons of life as childhood, adolescence, adulthood and the senior years. The previous stated are stages, not seasons. They are
stages of life that will never be repeated. Seasons reoccur, over and over again.
Seasons of Life Can Be
Winter: harsh times; a silent marriage, difficult children, death of a loved one
Spring: new beginnings; promotion, new baby, upgrades
Summer: a time to flourish, fat bank account, peaceful family times
Autumn: anticipating change; empty nest, divorce, illness
Winter is a time when there seems to be no life. All appears dead and bare, even hopeless. But life is there. Life is either in the gardener’s heart and mind with planning and anticipation of his annual plants. Or in the unseen, deep roots of the perennial who is storing up nutrients during this seemingly desolate time.
It may feel as though you have been abandoned in this seemingly bleak season. Can you ask God to help you believe that He is indeed at work?
“…My Father is always at work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” John 5:17
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. “ Hebrews 11:
Spring time often brings pruning. Pruning that encourages and makes way for new life. I’ve heard it said that the more mature the plant, the deeper the pruning.
Are you trusting The Father’s skillful hand or shrinking away?
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:5,
Summer is an intense season! A healthy plant must be tended to daily. It is inspected for disease, watered, weeds must be identified and pulled. The pulling must be done with an attentive hand in order not to disturb or bruise the roots of the plant. Roots are vital in absorbing nutrients and hydration for inner growth that produce outward fruit.
Do you believe that God is involved in your daily life?
“…Sing about a fruitful vineyard; I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.” Isaiah 27:2-3
Autumn is a time for harvesting. The joy of harvesting the fruit is an outcome of a healthy plant. How awesome to think that we bring delight to The Lord, The Master Gardener when He distributes our fruit to whom He pleases. The healthier the plant the more the plant will flourish and prosper. I find it fascinating that the more fruit picked from a healthy plant, even more fruit will come. The plant becomes generous with fruit! The plant is not only refreshed by growing more fruit but The Gardener is refreshed as He shares His fruit with whom He pleases!
Are you willing to bless those around you, for your Father’s pleasure or are you begrudgingly hoarding your fruit?
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25
Psalm one is a deep challenge to tend to ourselves, making sure we are planted by the living water, receiving vital nourishment in order to stay healthy. It’s our call to drink deep and continue growing into a healthy plant, regardless the season. God will produce the fruit. He will keep our leaves hydrated or store up the nutrients in our roots when there is seemingly no life, if we keep drinking. This shows how vital it is to be in The Word of God, daily. And actually, I believe our fruit is none of our business. Our business is to be a healthy plant. The fruit produced is The Master Gardener’s to do with what He pleases, to fulfill His will, His desires.
As a plant in your heavenly father’s garden…how are you doing? Are you planted by the stream of life; Jesus? Is He your living water? Is He your life source or have you transplanted yourself in a place too far from Him?
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:3
What season are you in?
Every season has its own type of beauty. Will you ask God to help you see the beauty in the season you find yourself?
Are you taking sips of His Word to stay healthy?
Have you experienced this life season before? What did you learn that will help you endure this season again?
What could God be calling you to do, in order to become healthier in the season you find yourself today?
Rest assured this season will eventually end and another will begin. But the master gardener stays the same. May you determine in your heart to stay close to your Jesus in the life circumstance that you find yourself. May you bring great delight to your Heavenly Father, the Master Gardener, regardless the season.
Jesus said:
”…If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37b-38
“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.” John 15:1
As His children may we strive to be healthy in any season of life we find ourselves. And may we bring pleasure to our God as He shares His fruit to whom He chooses.
Lynn and her husband Scott Jackson were in the pastorate for 22 years and are now beginning their 10th year as missionaries with Churches in Missions. Lynn assists her husband in facilitating short term mission trips in and out of country as well as a ministry of encouragement to pastors and wives. She is also available as a public speaker for luncheons, women’s conferences and retreats. It is her passion to share her Jesus and His Word as she challenges and encourages women.