“Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for He makes the storm clouds. And He will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush, green pasture.” Zech. 10:1
We’ve all heard the expression “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” You want that dream of green grass. You want perfection. You want a different set of circumstances - a different job, a different marital status, a different health diagnosis, a different weight…
You spend weeks and weeks watering. You are faithful to water every day. You give it a set amount of time to be watered. “My job better improve in the next month or”…. “My spouse better change in the next month”… Slowly the grass begins to turn a little greener but it has taken time and effort on your part. Things are not perfect in your time.
One day, the sky turns black and raindrops begin to fall. You get a steady, consistent rainfall. When it’s done, you look out the window. Your eyes are not deceiving you; it is a lush green carpet. It looks alive and healthy. All your weeks of work amounted to basically nothing BUT one good rainfall did more than those few weeks of watering! What is going on here??
The reason it is greener is because of nitrogen. What is nitrogen? Nitrogen is essential to life on earth. It is the principal element in every living thing on earth. When rain saturates the ground, there is more nitrogen released in the soil that plants take in. As the plants grow, their smaller roots will die and new roots will sprout up. The dead roots will decay. The good roots will take up the fresh nitrogen and tap into the nitrogen that was already present. Ultimately, nitrogen causes plants to grow and to make them a rich, lush, carpet of green.
Rain brings the green lawn-the perfection. Nourishing your lawn brings the Holy Spirit. We’ve spent weeks and months and years of our lives sprinkling water here and there and hoping we’ll grow-hoping our circumstances will change. We are faithful and pray and read the Word every day but we have set a time for God to change those circumstances. We choose the amount of time we want to be watered and we hold God to that time. If we don’t see that green, we quit!
What we need to do is turn off our timer, enjoy the rain and soak up the fresh nitrogen of God, which is already present. The dead will decay and we will begin to turn greener and greener. “He lets me rest in green meadows …. He renews my strength.” Psalm 23: 2-3
Don’t look at your neighbor’s lawn. If you were to go to the other side of the fence, you would discover their grass, their lives, are not so green after all. Their job or marriage is not as great as it may look to you. It may look greener but the greenest lawns are the ones watered from the sprinklers of heaven.
What if the heavens are shut up and there is no rain? Does God close the heavens? “If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies…and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive your sins, and restore your land to health.” 2 Chron. 7:13-14 (MSG) It’s easy to let things of the world pull us away from God and away from time spent with Him. Don’t focus on the green color, focus on the rain of the Holy Spirit. A little of God time here and a little there and we think we’ll be blessed and thriving in our walk. What we actually need is a good downpour from heaven because we are ready. He is our Holy Spirit of nitrogen that will saturate us and flush us till we are lush and rich in Him.
