Still on the subject of burying and planting, I want to remind you of the importance of taking care of the soil first.
We often think that just the seed and how much we water it are the only things that matter. We also care about the sun, the temperature, whether the vase is beautiful…But knowing the ground and preparing it are the first and most important steps.
Multiplied harvest
“He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.”
It is because of the quality of the soil that at different times we will need to wait for God’s preparation.
In Mark, chapters 4 and 13, we can read parables about sowing, stories that make clear the importance of preparing a good soil and paying attention to the place where we are planting our seeds.
The Word says that the seed cannot be planted shallowly, lest its roots burn with the sun because they are not deeply fixed. If it is just dropped on any surface, birds can eat it and you will lose it. If it is among thorns, it will suffocate and not grow. But if it is in good soil, planted in the right way, your harvest will multiply in quantity and quality.
God wants you to bear fruit that lasts. For this, you need to be strengthened and grounded in Him and in His word, that is, you need to be prepared to receive.
Time and soil
“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:8-9
Do you understand the importance of being prepared by God as a soil?
He won’t plant a seed in you and ask you to water it if your land is dry, stony, or even surrounded by thorns. In order for you to enjoy all of the Father’s blessings, you must be fertile, your heart prepared like a good land for planting, and everything that hinders you must be removed from the path.
God doesn’t want your seed to grow too fast and burn up. Or that it takes twice as long to be born and rots. He has the perfect timing, the essential and effective period for that seed to sprout and grow in order to reach greater heights in a strong and rooted way.
Look forward!
“For this people’s heart has become calloused. They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
Matthew 13:15
Try changing your question when praying. Instead of questioning: “God, why are you taking so long?”, ask: “Father, what do I need to work on myself to be able to live the best in You?” .
Allow God to act in your life and truly prepare you. Many times we worry too much about what we need to bury, trying to get Him to change His mind. But our attention has to be focused on obeying God’s “Yes”, not understanding the “No”.
The ground needs to be prepared.
Our disobedience and habit of questioning all the Father’s words makes us postpone the blessings He has for us, because we don’t focus on being polished in His presence, but on receiving what we want as soon as possible. Or else we look a lot at the past and put our attention on suffering for what is already gone. We take our eyes off the goal and what the Father has promised us and is calling us to see fulfilled.
To conclude…
“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
The seed may seem small and make us disbelieve that careful planting will make it become something much bigger. Sometimes we plant things in the past that frustrated us and fill us with fear of planting something again. It discourages us if we are not focused on God.
But just as the first text I quoted here speaks in verses 31 and 32:
“It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” (Mark 4:31-32)
Don’t question the time it takes, the size of the seed…
Have as main objective to be a good soil, to take care of that seed in the best way. Give attention, care, nurture and watch over it. Accompanying each step of the growth of your promise leads you to be increasingly grateful for the fruit it is generating.
