Are you watering it?

 

I’m sure you’ve all heard the old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”

Can I give you a different take on this?

The grass is always greener where you water it.  

Sometimes in our lives, we go through seasons where we’re just not sure where we fit in the scheme of things. We feel stuck. Maybe we lack direction or maybe, on the flip side, we have all the drive and motivation but it seems those around us are sitting in a stagnant pool, content to let the algae form as a skin on the surface of the water, not willing to cause any ripples, raise the water level or rid the pool of slimy rocks and break the wall that holds everything in.

It's a hard place to be in where you long to see things happen, but you don’t know where to start or even if you should make a start.

Can I just be honest with you here? Sometimes in our churches, we can get in such a rut that we’re unwilling to take a risk on stepping out in faith with a new ministry that God has placed on our hearts. And so, begins our spirit of discontentment.

We start looking over the fence at other churches and other ministries and the grass looks so green and inviting. They seem to have it all. Drive. Motivation. Enthusiasm. And the means to propel it forward.

Social media has done a lot to put fuel on the fire of discontentment. At the touch of a button, we are able to view the lives of others, the ministries of other churches, the programs and events and all that others are accomplishing, and we begin to find ourselves longing for more. “The grass sure does look green over there. I’d love to walk through that garden for a while.”

Unfortunately, often all is not as it seems, and we can’t believe all that we see. The grass may very well look greener on the other side of the fence, but it could very well be fake!

So, how do we get our grass to be as green as what we perceive?

We have to water it! The grass is always greener where you water it.  

If we want our churches to thrive and build God-honouring communities within them, we have to get busy watering them!

If God puts something on your heart, and you’re sure it’s from him then you need to stop looking over the fence and start watering the grass you’re standing on.

I guess it’s a ‘bloom where you’re planted’ moment. If God has put you in a certain place for a certain season, then this is where you are meant to bloom. This is where you are meant to grow. This is the grass you’re meant to water.

If God hasn’t called you to go, then you are called to stay!

When we look at the towns we live in, the churches we are part of, the bodies of believers we fellowship with, we may find ourselves frustrated with what we see. And let me say that just because you are passionate about something, doesn’t mean that everyone else has to be just as passionate. God does give special abilities and callings that are unique to each individual and we should never force this on others. But we are also called, as believers, to be part of the great commission, and we should all be striving to build the kingdom of Heaven through our programs and our outreaches.

If we can just stop looking over the fence and look around at where God has placed us, we may begin to see what it is God is calling us to do and how we can best serve him.

If we don’t tend to our own gardens, they will dry up and die.

Too many churches are full of advice-giving, disgruntled, discontent members who want things to happen, and are critical when things aren’t happening, but then when they do happen, they don’t want to get on board or support them and instead they sit back on the sidelines, judging and letting the grass dry up under their feet, their hoses full of dried mud.

We need to get busy in working to make Heaven more crowded by living out what we believe and putting action to our ideas as long as they line up with the Word of God.

A word of warning though. Don’t go off half-cocked, running full tilt into something before spending a lot of time in prayer.

We need to spend time talking with God about the direction he wants us to take. We need to filter it through the Word of God. We need to take counsel of older and wiser men and women of God.

When you are sure that you are being led by the Holy Spirit to pursue a line of direction, and when the door is open in front of you, and you are sure it is your door to walk through, then step out in faith! And with God’s leading and guiding, take hold of it with both hands, not looking back, but whole-heartedly pour yourself into the ministry God as called you to do.

As you build friendships in your church community and as you walk close to God, you will begin to find other likeminded Christians who have the same drive and passion as you. Let God light a fire under them and work with them towards the common goal you now have.

Don’t be discouraged by humble beginnings. Start with what God gives you, with who he partners you up with to serve him. Don’t be disheartened when you don’t see the interest you hoped you’d have. Work with what God gives you and don’t let your heart fail with so called ‘keyboard warriors’ that like nothing better than to discourage.

If God has called you to it, he will give you the ability to carry it out and he will bless the work.  Although the grass may take a while to change colour, pretty soon you’ll begin to see tender green shoots and the other side of the fence won’t be so inviting anymore as you’ll be too busy tending to your own garden, that you haven’t time to be peeking over the fence.

The grass really IS greener where you water it.

If you want to glorify God and be a blessing to others, work on watering the grass you find yourself standing on.

Serve in your churches. Your communities. Your families. Your workplace.

Be a splash of colour in a colourless world. Be a light in a dark place. Be a ripple in a stagnant pool. Don’t be afraid to live out your calling.

If each of us individually can work on watering our own little patch of grass, we will soon see the fruit of our labours. It may take longer than we want, it may be harder than we expected, but God will give his reward, and his name will be glorified.

Hebrews 12:1b  …….and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

Galatians 6:9 KJV - And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.