– by Lee Ann Rubsam
[Jesus] also said, “This is what the kingdom of Godis like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” – Mark 4:26-29
If you garden, you know that the results are not instantaneous. Perhaps the growing stage that takes the most patience is waiting for the seeds to sprout and appear through the soil. Once the new plants have poked their heads into the light, we know our crop is on the way, and from that point on we can watch the daily progress toward our harvest. But while the seeds are still underground, faith is needed — because we can’t see anything yet. Because we know how seeds work, we leave them alone and patiently wait. We don’t dig them up every other day to see how they are doing. If we did, the seeds would be harmed and would never manage to grow as they should.
God’s personal promises to us are like those seeds. He speaks a word, “planting” it in the soil of our heart, and it germinates there — but the fruit doesn’t immediately appear. In fact, the bigger the promise, the longer it usually takes to sprout through to where we can see the beginning stages. Unlike a gardener, many times we don’t have the sense to leave it alone and let it grow. We like to dig it up frequently to see if there is any progress. This may not cause damage to our promise-seed, but it certainly takes our peace and joy away.
“Lord, I don’t see anything happening. Did I really hear You right? Are You sure You can really make this happen for me? How will it happen? What if it doesn’t happen?”
On and on we go with these doubtful thoughts, making ourselves very unhappy. Sometimes we even damage the promise-seeds themselves, by taking them into our own hands and trying to force them open before their time.
The better way is to leave our seeds alone and stop digging them up. We can water them with our prayers, and God may also show us ways to prepare for when the little sprouts finally emerge, but beyond that, there is a waiting period of trusting God to do what He has said.
Eventually, the plants will be seen and progress will begin to be measurable. But until then, don’t dig them up. Let the seeds grow, so that in due time you will have your harvest.
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