Clay Collins Music

Embracing the Green House

I have found myself asking this question lately; what exactly happens in a green house?  I had never thought about it before until God spoke to me recently about this season of my life and how He was placing me in the green house.  To be honest, at first I was sad and a little disheartened because, once again, I felt like God was putting me on the bench!  Had God completely forgotten the dreams that He had given me?   Why would He put desires in my heart at a very young age only then to forget?  Was He playing a game with me?   I really felt abandoned and forgotten until a friend of mine reminded me of what happens in a green house.

When a plant is placed in a green house there is nurturing, protection and safety from the outside weather.   The plant is watered, cared for and given a lot of extra attention.  Greenhouses are designed to allow sunlight to filter through the walls and ceiling.  The sunlight warms the trapped air inside, creating chemical reactions.  These reactions help the plants grow to their full capacity while protecting them from outside elements.  It is a well-known fact that plants grow better when they have temperate heat and a good water source.  A greenhouse gives them both.

I compare the sunlight to the light that comes from the truth of God’s word.   When you spend time with Him and ask him to shine the light of truth, He will begin to change your perspective on things.  Once the light of the truth is revealed, you are able to replace the lie of the enemy with the truth that God has spoken.

The good water source comes from time spent in His presence and His word.  The washing of water by His word….

The construction of a greenhouse is key.  Typically, greenhouses are made of plastic or glass.  The purpose is to trap as much light and heat as possible.  The plants and soil inside absorb all the sunlight and then reflect it back out.  This is exactly what happens when you and I spend time in God’s word and His presence.  We begin to reflect His image on earth.  I believe He wants each of us to reach our full capacity of growth.  He desires that you and I come to a place of complete and total dependence on Him and allow His work to be accomplished in our hearts.

I guess if you are like me it’s hard to let go of control and totally surrender to what God is working out in us.   Somehow I convince myself that I have a better way.  I trick myself into thinking that I have it all figured out, as if I am safer if I stay in control.  How deceiving!

Maybe this is how Eve felt when she wanted so badly to eat of the one fruit that God asked her NOT to eat. She was tricked into believing that she had to have the one thing that was forbidden to her. The enemy causes us to obsess over the one thing that we can’t have.  Instead of focusing on what we do have and having an attitude of gratefulness, Satan will cause your eyes to become fixed on something that maybe the Lord has asked you to wait on.   Could it be possible that God is working some things out in me before He will give me that thing I have been hoping and dreaming about?  The Lord may see that if He fulfilled the desire of my heart right now, that it would destroy me.   That is where trust comes into the picture.  Trusting God and his process is key to embracing the greenhouse.  Perhaps He desires to pour the warmth of his light into my heart and heal some broken places.

You may be a mother that is waiting for a child to turn around, or a single person waiting on the person that God has promised to you.  Wherever you are in your journey, God is never going to abandon you!  God will never allow Satan to steal the dreams He has placed in your heart.   Never give up on the “God dream”.  Embrace this season that you are in right now.   It is through contentment that we release God to pour out His favor and work on our behalf.   I think the key to remember everyday is to place our focus on Him and choose to live with a grateful heart and attitude. In time, we will be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of living water.