Garden of Gladness

Welcome to a post about this painting which has been at the core of my artistic vision since I painted it. Its description is full of encouraging value & I hope you enjoy!

The original painting has already been sold.

Here’s a video if you want a more condensed description.

As always you are free to interpret this piece however you choose or are led to understand it.

These are simply my own thoughts which I feel inspired to share.

My own interpretations change as I revisit with pieces as time goes on, but these are my initial thoughts at the time of creation.

This painting does not just show God as a Gardener of our lives, but as a comfort. Just imagine with me that you are laying in a beautiful field of flowers and God comes and lays beside you and asks you how you feel, what’s on your mind, and then speaks truth to you. All of a sudden you are completely renewed, like a thirsty ground that just received rain.

I hope this painting can give you insight into who God is & remind you that He is not distant or unapproachable. Here's the verse that inspired this piece:

“For the LORD comforts Zion; He comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.” ~Isaiah 51:3

Our lives are spiritual gardens and God is The Gardener. There are hidden areas in all our lives that are useless like a rock piles overgrown with thorns that God longs to dig up and plant His beauty in.

God cares for you so much that He is willing to come into your world, comfort and change you so that all your barren and poisoned soil grows into something beautiful. It can be hard work to turn your life into a garden, but you don’t have to do the work. God is working on our hearts everyday and longs for us to let go of our anxieties and be rooted in Him. If we ask to be washed by Yashua like water and give every last grain of dirt to him, he can begin to grow flowers in our lives and spread seeds into the lives of those around us.

Now let’s take a deeper look. Because the Bible mentions the growth of plants as analogies almost countless times and the things we can learn from these insights are endless!

Let’s approach these verses in the light of worthiness & find out just how special we are in God’s eyes! First take a look at this beautiful quote by W. Timothy Gallwey,

“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.” ~W. Timothy Gallwey

We are all in a process of growth and are not condemned. In fact, we are of high worth! High enough worth for The Creator of the universe to get involved in our lives!

Let’s look at some ways you and I are worthy. But first let's figure out what worthiness is. Sometimes it is hard to come to grips with your worth because we all strive to live in humility. It can seem arrogant or even belittling of God to think of yourself as worthy. Worth often leads to worship and is a recognition of greatness. It is often hardest to recognize our own greatness & there is no lasting gain in worshiping ourselves. However, until we think rightly about our worth we will never truly be able to express worship for God in a completely pure and heartfelt way. To recognize what we are truly worth, we must look at how God sees us. How much worth we have in God & how precious we are to him!

Check this out:

“Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.“~Num.24:6

 Do you know what planting requires? Getting down on your hands and knees and getting some dirt under your nails. Can you imagine God getting down on his hands and knees beside your heart to cultivate it?

The God of all creation is willing to get his hands dirty in our heart’s garden. Not only that, but we also find our worth within the greatness of God. It’s as if humility and worthiness are actually connected and not opposites. When we notice that The King of the Universe is willing to work in our garden, we find that the higher the view we have of God, the higher view we can have of ourselves since he is so willing to give us attention and recognition. It’s a humility of knowing we are so much less than God that gives us the ability to see ourselves as worthy as this King of The Universe does himself.

 You won’t see any other kings working in a garden, but boy do they have them! All throughout the Bible we see kings with grand plans for their gardens in order to use them to display their own greatness, just as we are worthy enough to display God’s greatness. The king has the right and power to choose anywhere for his garden, and yet the King of Kings chooses our hearts as this place.

 To understand better what I mean, reflect on these following verses:

 “He gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. And when these days were completed,the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones.  Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king.” ~Esther 1:3-8

 Now if we are worthy enough to display God’s greatness to others, then we are worthy enough to be God’s fellow gardeners. Check this out: 

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.” ~1st cor. 3:7-9

Also look at these verses:

“And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.~Leviticus 19:10  

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered.” ~Prov. 11:25

These apply to the garden of our hearts. We desire to have time and energy for others, to invest in their lives and water their hearts, but how often do we strip ourselves bare? Being so busy or overwhelmed that we have little left for others. You can fight this pattern by taking more time for yourself, as well as spending more time with God. Time with God will allow him to take care of you, so that you in turn can help him take care of others.

 Time is precious and an important ingredient in growth. Nothing just sprouts up over night. As much as we want to change and get better quickly we cannot force our growth. Oftentimes we don’t understand what God is doing in our lives or how he is cultivating the garden of our hearts, we tend to be impatient and wonder if he has our best interest in mind at all. We have hurtful thorns that we want to get rid of right away and waiting can be so hard. But The All Knowing One has a perfect plan for our lives which includes perfect timing for every action he takes in our life. Even the actions that initially produce pain instead of instant relief or healing.

 “A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.”~Ecc. 3:2b

”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” ~Rom 8:28

       Sometimes the weeds we think are so beautiful are nothing compared to what could plant if they were uprooted. But a lot of the time we want our own way, wanting to keep what we think is best for us, saying, “Not yet God.” However if we are mold-able and aware of how precious we are to God, as the years pass we will see he is cultivating our lives according to the very best plan and with perfect timing. This gives us the encouragement we need to give up control of our life, which brings liberation and security. As well as giving God the control of the lives of those we love who may need to experience something painful in order to grow the way God has planned for them.

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” ~John 12:24-25

Growth is sometimes painful, but to sprout into something new our seeds must first die and then grow through the dirt, something gritty and gross yet full of life-giving nutrients.  Be reminded by this following verse that quick growth is not always a good sign.

“Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away” ~Mark 4:5-6

Just as the seasons pass, bringing time for harvest or planting anew, each season of our life will not be wasted. God is always at work even in the simplest of things, to bring you closer to himself and closer to who you are called to be. But not all growth has to be painful, there is time for refreshing and comforting within this walk with God. No matter the time of year he gives us constant care & is watches over us in all seasons!

But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven,  a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”~Deut11:11-12

 “He turns a desert into pools of water, parched land into springs of water.” ~Psalm 107:35

“And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD” ~Gen.13:10

Just as all growth is not painful, all comfort is not growth inducing. Unfortunately not all water is sweet. If you find yourself unsatisfied by the water you partake in, it may be time to ask for healing for that water or time to take a closer look at the water source you are relying on. See these verses:

“When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”  And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I Will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.” ~Exodus 15:23-27

 God is our healer, the sweetener to the bitterness of life. He can seep his water down into the deepest of cracked soil & the driest of parched deserts. Even the hardest of hearts can be saturated with his Spirit.

 “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.” Psalm 114:8

 Take a look at these verses:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.” ~Ezekiel 36:26-27, 35-36

What more needs to be said!? Do you see how much transformation can occur and the results that come from such a transformation!? & It all begins with a new heart!

 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” ~Psalm 64:1

 There is no doubt that our souls thirst after The Creator. To find The Water of Life we must seek him just as we are being sought out by him. It does require some effort on our part, but knowing the reward we earnestly press on to know him more intimately. Take a look at this verse:

 “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” ~Zeph. 3:17

 It’s as if God is waiting for you in every moment, rejoicing as you rejoice! Waiting for us to seek him and ready to welcome us with rejoicing & love when we do. The kind of love that comforts. The kind of rejoicing that is consistent, sometimes settling in the background, always there but sometimes unnoticed. No matter where you are or what state of mind you’re in, comfort & guidance awaits in a Love so real it sings with joy!  The Love Source singing & rejoicing over you! You are precious! Just as God’s presence brings joy to us, our presence brings joy to God! Read this verse in the light of joy:

 “They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.” ~Jer. 31:12

We notice here how our joy is connected to the joy of God. How just as he rejoices in us, we rejoice in Him. We are in his presence just as he is in ours & as our joy grows so does his! All this comfort & joy begins with a love of God, just as his joy begins with a love of us. Joy beings with love & from it grows deep connection in the form of relationship. A relationship that leads to peace & a soul so well watered!! 

“For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew.”~Zech. 8:12

 Unfortunately, from time to time, we all forget this peace. Sometimes we go looking for the bitter water or for joy in material things. Take a look at the following parable describing this very thing:

  “Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig,  and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs. And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble-vine. “Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots.  Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?” ~Ezekiel 17:5-10

 Parables have many different meanings & you may find a personal message that’s different from what I found after reading over it a few times. But what I found here is about a plant that God cared for and gave life to. Yet the plant saw something more flashy than God, something glittery and distracting. The plant forgot all about where his water was coming from & who planted him in the first place. Then to the detriment of his own life sought what was not water, for water & what was not love, for love. His roots were no longer planted in the water and dried out; no longer able to produce fruit or sprout leaves. It’s a sad story because it is so easy to find areas in our own lives where we have done the exact same thing. Speaking of roots, take a look at this passage:  

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. holding fast to the Head [which is Christ], from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.”~ Col:2:6-7, 19

 According to the verse above, strong roots that dig deeper & deeper into God everyday, will produce a life full of building up; of being established in faith & of abounding in thanksgiving! Why is this? Because we cannot find all the strength we need for this life all on our own, this is why we are always seeking out something to fill us up. The bigger our roots grow & the deeper they sink into the nutrients of God, the more opportunity we will have to draw upon his strength; drawing more and more of his power & more and more of himself into our lives. Just as joy begins with Love, the outcome of our lives beings with our roots. To drive this point even further look at the following verses. 

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn-bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” ~Luke 6:43-45

 And what are our roots? Our heart. Our thoughts; the treasures we gather up into our being.  

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”~Gal. 6:7-10

And remind me again, how we are worthy? How do we have this opportunity for treasures beyond this natural world?

 “And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.” ~John 19:2

 According to Isaiah 51:3 (the verse this painting was inspired by) we have desert waste-places to be cultivated into something beautiful. These areas, the weeds of life and all the thorns of pain, represent the spots in life abandoned by the soul and untouched by God. God’s son Yashua, took a wasteland upon his head; all the wrath of God and the sin of the world in order to refresh & replant his life in us. 

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” ~Rev 22:17