When we visited Israel for 3 weeks in 2005, I was inspired to write many times. I have selected some of them to put here on my blog which I hope you have enjoyed. It was a very spiritual time and just being in that place and reading the word of God there gave me much inspiration. It was a precious time in allowing the Lord to bring his word to life in me and by being able to express my feelings and thoughts in writing. My inspiration was in the places we went, the incidents that occurred - being in the Holy Land, with its rich biblical heritage. As I sat in places where Jesus, David and the disciples sat, I couldn't help but ask God what relevance their stories still have today and I found that in fact they have an awful lot of relevance for me today. Their stories are our stories. As they made their own walks of faith with the Lord, so we too are making ours in his garden each day.Walking in the Garden with God
'The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden but the Lord called to the man 'where are you?' " Genesis 3 :8-10
We all know the rest don't we? Having been tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve must leave the pleasures of the garden that they had always enjoyed, and worse than this, they must lose the pleasure of having a sin-free, intimate relationship with the Lord Almighty himself. The same Lord who created the universe and the intricate and delicate world beneath, the one who breathed life into creation, his amazing and perfect and wonderful creation because it pleased him to do so. The same Lord who put vast galaxies together and tiny ladybirds with their colour coordinated coats on the ground beneath. The same God who knew immense pleasure in his spectacular creation and great pain at man's rebellion. The same God who felt the desperation of our rebellion throughout the centuries and came himself to relieve it.
I am amazed at this God. The way he decided long ago to form me, shout out my name and call me home again. No longer banished from the garden, no longer barred from its beauty and his presence, no longer worried about the flaming sword. Yet often I have wandered from the garden, with its beautiful colours and wonderful scenes, where there's shade from the sun and creatures that make me smile inside. Too often I have forgotten that to be in the garden brings immense pleasure and satisfaction. Too often I forget that it's being in God's will and in the safest hands. It is by walking in the garden that I can feed on the river of life flowing through it, a river that cascades and races with life, a dry lifeless river bed never to be seen, for in him we have life and he is the fountain of life.
I have been given such a privilege, to have heard the call of Jesus, to see his limp body hanging on the tree, broken and shattered so that my sin and rebellion could be shattered in return. The golden sceptre thrashing out from the heavens into the blackness of Adam's world, smashing it to pieces, smashing it away into the distance where it could never be seen again. My sin, not in part but in full, nailed to his cross and forever gone with one foul swoop, so that I could walk back into God's garden, enjoy sweet fellowship with him, hold his hand, sit on his knee, my creator God, my heavenly Father, my Lord and saviour Jesus, forever my friend, my King.
Life has not always been lived in God's garden. For many years I wondered aimlessly in the wilderness of my own making, not even interested in peering in. Yet one day he did call to me, "where are you?" Not to punish me, as he did Adam and Eve, but to invite me in, washed in the blood of his Son, pure and holy in his sight. I entered with much trepidation and began to sample the delights of this new world. It wasn't long though before the worries and concerns of the world found me again and I have been journeying through many seasons learning how to keep walking with the Lord even when the scorching heat of summer comes, or the bleak barren wintry skies fill my world. It has been a journey and most of these diary entries reflect that journey, their seeds planted long ago by God in all the lessons that he's taught me during my Christian life so far. Through many circumstances and situations, good and bad, God has taught me that the only comfort is to stay in his garden, enjoy his beauty and walk side by side with him each day. This has always been his desire, to invite us back into his world, his amazing and incredible garden.
'You were in the wind,
You were in the fire,
You were in the earthquake,
and I heard you,
You were there,
Your gentle whisper,
my ointment, my life'
