God's Practical Plan

 When I shared our journey to homesteading, it is no coincidence that yesterday I read this👇😊, which I will share with you. This reading was taken from the book " 100 Days of Blessings, Devotions for Wives and Mothers, Volume 2" by Nancy Campbell.


I'm not a big fan of "Daily Devotionals" but this, as well as Nancy's others are very "meaty", a daily devotion is usually 2-3 pages long.  

Day 18
God's Practical Plan
Part1

"Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce"
(Jeremiah 29:5 NASB)

Iam always amazed as I read God's Word to find how practical it is for our daily lives. God comes down to our "nitty gritty" and leaves us without a doubt as to how He wants us to live.
In Jeremiah 29:5-11 NASB God sent a charge through the prophet to the Jews who were taken captive to Babylon. It was a practical message, reminding them of His original plan. Remember, they were commands to people living in captivity! He told them that even though they were now living in captivity, He still wanted them to continue in His plan, the plan He gave them from the very beginning. God's plans and purpose do not change according to our circumstances. His eternal principles work in every situation and for every generation.
God commands.......
1. Build houses
"Build houses and live in them" (verse 5). It is God's blessing for us to be settled in a home. God made sure He had the home ready and waiting before He formed His female creation. The home is our sanctuary - a solace from the outside world where we make a haven of peace for our husband to return each evening and a place where we nurture and train our children. God's plan is for children to be raised in the home.

2. Plant Gardens
"Plant gardens and eat their produce" (verse 5). You may be thinking that it's nice to hear about gardens, but you don't have any room to make a garden where you live. Even if you have very little land, I would encourage you to prepare a small garden, or even grow a few lettuces, herbs, or tomatoes in pots on your deck. A little garden is better than no garden at all. Many have forgotten in this modern society in which we live in that gardening is part of home-making. The first home was called the "GARDEN of Eden", and God established the first home as the prototype for all future homes.
God intends us to grow produce to help feed our families. In years gone by this was necessary for survival. If you didn't have a garden, you didn't eat! Today we can get by without a garden, but I wonder if we really get away with it? If we want to eat healthy produce, we need to grow it ourselves! Most commercial produce is heavily sprayed with chemicals and a high percentage is genetically modified. Of course, you can purchase organically grown produce from a Farmer's Market but your own garden saves heaps of money.
This is so much part of God's plan that He commanded the Jews to plant gardens even in captivity! Gardens don't just appear! You have to work at them. That's what God told Adam to do in the very beginning. Genisis 2:15 GNT says, "Then the Lord God placed the man in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it." The Hebrew word "cultivate" is avad and means "to toil, to serve, to make weary, to be fatigued." It's not always easy to start a garden. Some people say, "It's okay for you because you live in the country and have plenty of room." Actually, on our hill there is no suitable soil. we had to purchase soil to fill our 13 long raised beds.
Evangeline, our daughter, has the most magnificent vegetable garden to feed their large family of 10 children. I have to concede that her garden is now better and much bigger than mine! Her garden didn't suddenly appear either. Iam amazed every time I look at this huge garden space knowing that it was hewed out of trees and bramble - a jungle that looked impossible. But, Evangeline had a dream which she made happen. It reminds me of my favorite saying, "Things don't just happen: you have to MAKE THEM HAPPEN." They got "stuck in". They cut down the trees, dug out the roots, and with back-breaking effort broke up the soil.
This morning I read to my granddaughter one of Edgar Guest's poems, Results and Roses. Here's an excerpt...

The man who wants a garden fair,
Or small or very big,
With flowers growing here and there,
Must bend his back and dig.

The things are mighty few on earth
That wishes can attain,
Whate'er we want of any worth 
We've got to work to gain.
 
Prayer:
"Dear Father, I thank you so much that you show me the way you want me to live. Help me to walk in your ways. Amen"

Scriptures About Gardens:
Genesis 1:29; Proverbs 6:6-11; 12:11; 24:27; 27:18; 28:19; 31:16 and 2 Corinthians 9:6.

By: Nancy Campbell (100 Days of Blessings, Devotions for Wives and Mothers, Volume 2) 

With Love
Colette

 

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