"Young Woman"

 "Awake, north wind! Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden and spread its fragrance all around. Come into your garden, my love, taste its finest fruits." (S.O.S. 4:16 NLT)

  If it makes you feel any better, then this is more than just praise for what has been revealed; this is a prayer to be that garden, with all of its fruits and fragrances. But more importantly, that this is His garden, and not only is it His making, but He is welcomed in! Not just invited, as if to say, Come in and make yourself at home; but this is more about Him coming in and judging the flavor of all of the fruit! 

  I don't know what you might think of the ministry, but it is not an easy place to be employed, if that is what you are looking to do for a living. I have been involved with ministry, in one way or another, for at least 35 years; and I can tell you from what I know, if you are going to do anything that actually makes a difference, you are not going to try to do it on your own. When we make it about us, we are setting ourselves up for a major disappointment! It is not about us; it is about Jesus Christ living inside of us, to be our hands and feet, to be the Lord over all of our actions, our words, our emotions; all that we are in every situation and through every circumstance, we are governed by and powered by His Spirit! 

  Now you know what it takes, so you can see what kind of prayer this is we are looking at! This is a serious issue, because it involves giving ourselves over to be changed, and tasted, and changed again; on and on it goes, over and over: that is what it looks like to be in ministry; this is what we feel like in this life of serving Christ Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth...

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has many functions, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." (Romans 12:1-5) NLT