Don't Scrimp!

Summer is for flowers! I love flowers! When I plant in the spring I try to make it shine forth God's glory and the beauty He created. This year my flowers were not cutting it. I used cheap dirt for my planters. The flowers acted like it; they weren't happy at all. Finally I got frustrated enough to start over. After all my flowers didn't show the beauty that God created them to have. So off to the flower stand I went. I had great ideas, but not the money behind those ideas. So I thought I would skimp. I bought some new dirt for my planters but the flowers were just too expensive for my idea. Then I saw it! I beautiful hanging basket! Full of flowers in brilliant vibrant colors! "What a testament to God," I said to myself. Instead of buying individual flowers to create my own planters from scratch, I thought I could save....aka scrimp.....money and buy that basket and simply divide it up into my planters. Then I could divide it up and spread that beauty around my porch. So I went to work. It was like a bowl of spaghetti! The branches were all intertwined and twisted. Carefully I worked to untwist, uncurl and free each individual plant. Carefully I planted them into their new forever homes. As the day went on I noticed that all was not well. They were wilting! Broken branches were dying before my eyes. By the end of the day they sure didn't display any glory to God at all. They looked more like they were hit by the curse of a fallen Eden. I waited a day hoping for a miracle. Picking away at what was dying or dead, praying that there would be some life left someplace. A resemblance of His glory had to be still in there! It was hopeless. They looked like dried flowers instead of what I had envisioned.

That is when God spoke to my heart. "What did you expect?" He asked. "If you truly wanted it to be for my glory, why did you scrimp? Don't you know that I would have provided money for it?" Then this verse hit me between the eyes, "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, [which is our hearts] which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house."

Often times I neglect taking care of my spiritual life in pursuit of other things. Even good things that are meant to give Him the glory often get in the way of my daily gathering of manna from His word.
So I spent some time in His Word and let Him set me straight on a few things, then ran off to the flower stand yet again. I came home with some individual plants and replanted my flower boxes. Yeah it cost me in the long run, but He is good for it.

Have you taken care of His house yet today? I highly recommend it before He blows away all your efforts for the day.