Grace Notes // When We Were Kings Week 11

Vineyards to Vegetable Gardens

Written by Keli Miller

When you carry what is yours to carry, it’s a prosperous, luxurious vineyard. When you try to carry what is not meant for you, it’s merely a run of the mill vegetable garden. 

The story held in the pags of 1 Kings 21, is a story of deception, jealousy, death and mercy. Next to Ahab’s palace lived a man named Naboth who had inherited a vineyard from his family. Land was rarely sold at this time, but rather was viewed as an inheritance from God that was passed down from generation to generation. 

Naboth’s vineyard was intended to be passed down to his sons. It was the inheritance and blessing from God that was set aside for future generations. It was not Ahab’s to hold, even if he was king. 

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

    you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Psalm 16:5-6 

This Psalm rings true for Naboth. He recognized what was his inheritance. It wasn’t about having more or the best, it was about owning what was given to him. This Psalm was also true for Ahab, but he failed to understand what was his and what wasn’t. He could not accept the boundary lines of his own inheritance. 

This Psalm is also true for me and you. Your boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places. You have a delightful inheritance. What sits in your cup is different from what sits in my cup, but both portions are secure and perfect. 

It’s easy to look at someone else's land and see the fruit they’ve been given.  But what we don’t see is the seasons prior. We don’t see the land before it was a vineyard.  Battles were fought to keep that land. It took commitment, hard work and sacrifice to grow that vineyard.  Just because you were called to carry something doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. 

Ahab was tempted by passivity and ease. He didn’t work for anything that was given but let others manipulate circumstances so that he could have what he wanted. We can learn from his errors and delight in the inheritance that is already ours. To look around and recognize what God has given us- what is ours to carry and what is not. 

The two questions we need to be asking ourselves is: What is mine to carry and, what is not?  

Where have your boundary lines fallen in this season?  As much as my Enneagram 7 self hates to say it, we can not do it all or have it all. But delight begins when we recognize what’s already in our hands. 

In The Word 

1 Kings 21 

Psalm 16:5-6 

Processing 

What has God given you to carry? What is your responsibility? 

Are there circumstances that you have been trying to manipulate when God has said that it’s not yours to carry? 

Where has envy/comparison stolen your delight?