Beyond These Walls: Here We Go! Week 3 Devotional Day 4

DAY 4 – Thursday

Daily devotional

Read

Mark 4:26-29, John 12:24, Psalm 25:4-5

Ask

When have you been tempted to see yourself responsible for God’s part in someone else’s spiritual growth?

Reflect

As a little girl one of my favorite places was visiting my grandparent’s 20-acre farm in Missouri. Every summer they had two gardens bursting with vegetables and fruits of all varieties. It was there where I learned the value of seeds. Though they lay small and dormant in the palm of our hands, they hold the potential to produce and generate amazing results. The kingdom of God grows in cultivated hearts and reveals its fruit in due season. Similar to the mystery of life happening beneath the soil when a living root shoots out of a seed shell, God’s kingdom takes root in places we simply cannot see.

What does this have to do with the roles we play in spiritual growth? We can embrace the in-between moments by faith. Seasons God allows between when his living and active Word is sown and new life is evident is where we get to practice faith in God’s promises. God is constantly at work cultivating the exact conditions necessary for new life to grow through the very seeds we sow in the lives around us. We get to spread the word and plant seeds for the next generation fruit-bearers. Seeds are sown by the lives of faith we lead and the words of love we speak, but it’s God who assumes all responsibility for growth. Sometimes we get to see the fruit of our labor this side of heaven, but there are many times when we live in faith trusting God’s “in-between” work even when we can’t see it.

Are there relationships in your life where you can surrender perceived control or disappointment, and claim God’s faithfulness for the “in-between” seasons? Have you forgotten that seeds can lay dormant during winter seasons? Ask God to see spring arrive in lives around you!