Walled Garden

Daily Reading: 2 Corinthians 12-13

Scripture Focus: I know that this man was caught up into paradise. (2 Corinthians 12.3)

Devotional Thought: One day last week I found myself done at the office by 4:30. I went on home and 'put my feet up' for the evening. I didn't even go to my study in the basement. Instead, I read a novel and relaxed. As the evening drew to an end, Lana and I reflected how wonderful it was to have a quiet night at home. It was paradise!

The Apostle Paul spent an 'evening in paradise.' He described it in 2 Corinthians 12. He didn't fully understand it: "whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows" (v. 3). He couldn't fully convey it: "he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (v. 4). But he knew it was real. It changed his life.

The word for paradise comes from a Persian word meaning "walled garden." When a Persian king wanted to honor someone, he would invite the honoree into his private garden and spend time walking and talking in the beautiful setting. It was into the garden of God that Paul was invited. (Beacon Bible Commentary, 603)

Have you been to the garden of God recently? He invites you there. You may not (probably won't) have an ecstatic experience like Paul's, but you can have a refreshing, renewing, restful experience with God. Come to the garden...

I come to the garden alone - While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear - The Son of God discloses

And He walks with me - And He talks with me - And He tells me I am His own

And the joy we share as we tarry there - None other has ever known

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come into your garden to spend time with you today. Thank you for inviting me in, for walking with me and talking with me. Thank you for the joy we share. It is paradise to know you. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!" (Psalms 116:1-4)