Don’t dig up in fear what you planted in faith!!

By Helen Jesze, 7^th March 2020

“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises,”

Hebrews 6, 12 (KJV)

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise,”

Hebrews 10:35-37 (KJV)

Twice within a few days I have heard these words from different people, and they keep resounding in my heart. We have probably all heard of the little boy who planted some seeds, and then after a few days, he went and dug them up to see if they were already growing – of course, we know the result of that!

God was the first gardener who planted anything; that was the Garden of Eden. Adam and all of us since then have had to learn that when we plant seeds they need good soil, more or less sun or shade, moisture and perhaps some fertiliser. The little boy did not realise that God also made it that seeds need rest and time. If the seeds are moved, agitated or dug up they may die, or if the tiny roots have already started to grow, the roots are too delicate and weak to grow properly and sustain the plant. God made seed time and harvest with Time in-between, and every farmer knows there is a degree of patience involved.

This sentence means that it is possible to plant something in our hearts and believe God for a while, but it warns us not to start rooting around in our thoughts or heart to see what is happening. How can we ‘dig up’ our seeds planted ‘in faith’? This could be by becoming discouraged because we have not yet seen the answer or the situation being changed. Thoughts of defeat and lies of satan seek to take hold of our mind; depression weighs us down and we stare at our bare patch of ‘earth’, tempted to start digging to see what is happening.

Every plant has two levels – the leaves, stem, flowers and fruit above the ground, then a root-system underneath. What happens above the ground depends on what is happening below. Our Christian life also needs the nourishment of God’s Word, the sunshine of His love and promises, the water and wind of the Holy Spirit, the stability of faith and trust in our God to keep us grounded and cause us to grow. We also need to guard our hearts from the cold winds of unbelief, disobedience and sin, which will weaken our plant or abort our seed. For a while we can hide our true spiritual state, but later on it will become plain to see.

So with the Lord’s help, let’s take our eyes off those bare patches, and turn them in praise and worship to the Lord and his Word, and not throw away our confidence. Those seeds of faith are growing and we shall see them come up and bear fruit, for faithful is He who has promised!