I built hay walls outside the duck pen this winter to protect the ducks from the wind and coldest temperatures. I built hay walls inside the Run-In for the goats too and it worked great. The goats had an extra-insulated wall and snacks at the same time. By Spring, the goats had eaten up the winter weather guard and moved on to greener pasture grasses.
The ducks, on the other hand, do not eat hay – so the winter walls were still standing during the Spring rains and “shedding season”. As the goats rubbed against the hay bales to loosen their shedding fur, they caused the wire fasteners on the duck pen fencing to give way. The wire fence for the duck pen was coming loose. It was (past) time to remove the rotting hay bales.
Carrying and stacking fresh, dry, hay bales during the winter was relatively easy. The organic wall I worked with today, was heavy with moisture, plants, worms and slugs. It disintegrated as I attempted to load it into the wheelbarrow and move it to the compost pile. This was a messy chore. As I pushed each load of the now useless “wall” to the compost, I was reminded there is no “set it – and forget it” with living things.
God’s Word is a living, breathing, life-changing composition (Heb. 4:12, 2 Tim.3:16). We can’t read a verse, learn a story, attend a study – and think that we’ve got it. There is something new and inspiring in the Word of God for us every time we read it. The Holy Spirit reveals what we are ready to understand when the time is right. He captures our attention and quickens our pulse over different commands during different seasons of our lives to fulfill specific needs within the Body of Christ.
Consider how one simple sentence (“Go with God.”) has three different personal messages depending on which word is emphasized by His Spirit – directly to yours:
In a season of hesitation, insecurity or doubt, you may read the sentence this way: “GO (Get up! Get moving! Don’t delay!) with God.”
In a season of impulsiveness or unexpected situations, you may read it this way: “Go WITH (not alone, along side, near) God.”
In a season of indifference, you may read the same sentence this way: “Go with GOD (not your friend, spouse, neighbor, boss, audience, etc.).”
This is the beauty of having a personal relationship with the King of our hearts. Oh, what a joy it is to experience God’s love in the pages of His Book! May you be touched by the breath of heaven as you meditate on His Word today.
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” 1 Thess. 2:13
