Hey! I hope you are doing well.Thank you so much for taking to time to join me. Maybe you are in the middle of a busy day, we all have those kind of day, can I tell you about one of my busy days.

I remember that day so well. I was getting ready for a family conference and I hadn’t finished my blog post.

In the middle of my hurry mode, I stopped and why I stopped is what I want to tell you about today.

I was hunting for the perfect picture for my blog. I had more to do than I could finish in a single day, so I was flipping through pictures that a crazy woman, when I felt a stop in my spirit.

Most of the time, my friend Holy Spirit whispers, but this was more like a “STOP” from an onlooker over my shoulder. So I did.

I clicked backward this time looking until I found THE picture. While it didn’t fit the blog post I was writing, it fit where I was living.

It was a picture of a huge cedar tree with dark emerald colored needles and as i looked closer I realized it was a picture of a tree growing out of solid rock!

But how?

How could a huge tree like that grow from shear rock?

God spoke quickly and quietly, “There wasn’t room for a tree, so I planted a seed.”

It was a God moment.

God was talking to me. Every day since that moment those words have echoed through the caverns of my mind and heart.   I’ve seen the same thing happening in mountains all over the country.

Trees growing out of solid rock.  

Fat roots bulging and bursting through rock to get a foothold in the soil.

While it is intriguing to see a tall tree growing from a huge boulder, we understand it didn’t start out as a mature tree.

Only a crack

A seed was dropped by a bird or blown aimlessly by the wind which found a crack. A tiny crevice, probably not much bigger than the seed itself and the seed simply began to grow.

As the trees branches climbed heavenward the roots grew stronger. The roots flexed their muscles and without fanfare did what roots do. Don’t underestimate the power of the seed of God’s Word!

A root

In places where there’s no room for a tree….

They didn’t reach for the stars, instead they dug, deeper and deeper…sipping water and savoring whatever nutrients they could find. Tiny roots grew stronger and thicker. They reached farther and deeper. Twisting to drink nourishment, turning and reaching, bursting the tiny crevice, now a crack wider.

Protruding like tentacles…
wrapping,
digging,
feeding,
pushing,
cracking.

All the while nourishing not just the tenacious roots, but the trunk and branches that were reaching on tip toes for the sky.

Simply growing in a place where there was no room for a tree…only room for a tiny, unnoticed, inconspicuous seed.

God’s voice was so clear.

I savored His words like decadent chocolate.
Chewing slowly.
Quietly, I responded, “What are you saying to me?”

Let me explain.

It had a busy year. I’d

• studied hard.
• prayed really hard.
• prepared.
• repented.
• gone after God tenaciously.
• tried…not always successfully…(how do you measure that? I mean when I use my measuring tape is that really the measure for success?
• but I’d tried to believe God for powerful results.

 I hadn’t seen the fruitfulness that I wanted to see.

I wrestled with

Prayers that seemed unanswered.
Problems that remained unresolved.
People that seemed calloused and hard hearted concerning the things of God.
People that I love, that seem to be thumbing their noses in rebellion against God.
And I let my unmet expectations discourage me.

Lean closer to understand.

I don’t know how God deals with your heart, but often He says things that I don’t understand at all! But when I ask Him questions and then listen, He clarifies and gives me understanding. I call it leaning in to hear what He is saying.

I made it a point to lean in to understand His message to me. I realized that often when I share God’s Word, when I pray I look for results…mature trees…branches bowing with mature fruit.

Miracles still happen! Praise God.

And I have seen miraculous times that God did expedite growth, almost like time-lapse photography…where I saw people’s lives radically changed. And those times are happening more and more frequently.  

And while I am believing and going after God for more and more of those kind of encounters…God was encouraging my heart with His whisper…”There wasn’t room for a tree, so I planted a seed.”

That’s what God has called me to do…
               called us to do…
                        is plant seed.

Precious seed…

    the Word of God….
        Powerful…
        Eternal…
        Life-giving…
        Life-changing…
        SEED

The trouble with seeds…
     You can’t see that they made it into a crack.

Wasted seed?

It feels like your wasting perfectly good seed.
Seeds require patience and time.

Did I mention there is no physical evidence that anything…
anything at all is happening?

(That’s so hard! AHHHHH!
I guess it’s obvious which fruit isn’t doing so well in my garden. Sometimes, I forget patience is a fruit that I have to cultivate.)

But things have been easier since I understood that I don’t always get to plant mature trees from the local nursery.

…the family camp?

God showed up in a powerful way! I love it when He shows up. I ministered with a new level of confidence. I knew God was working…
I just KNEW IT!

Did I see all I wanted to see?

No, God has more. I’m going after more of Him than ever before.

But after the last service I hear testimonies of powerful…
life changing…
‘way of thinking-changing’ God encounters.

Encounters that I had not didn’t know about.

I realized God was moving in ways that I could not observe with my eyes.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Why am I being so vulnerable with you? Because God has called all of us to plant seed somewhere. And it’s tough planting,
especially when you don’t see it germinate as quickly as you think it should.

We want instant gratification.

We want to know we are doing something that counts. We want to know that we really heard God’s voice.

We want to see fruitfulness…

     answered prayers…
     immediate results!

And sometimes we do.

Like  the hearts of little children that have been nurtured with God’s Word…
     tiny little hearts,
     still protected, tender and open,
     there’s plenty of room for seed there.
 (That’s why children’s ministry is so important! But don’t get me started on that.)

Prepared heart

Or any heart that has been saturated with prayer and Scripture. Prepared hearts hungry for more of God. Those hearts are ready for mature plants,
like those grown in a nursery.

Plants that mature and bare fruit quickly.

You can transplant young trees into enriched soil, but never in solid rock.

That’s when and why you use seed.

They can thrive in tiny crevices. Especially when we water it with faith-filled prayer! And faith filled prayer always comes from a Word filled spirit. 

Never, please never underestimate the power of the seed of God’s Word.

Faith energized prayer is Word energized prayer.

That’s why most of the time our job is planting seeds…
and yes, sometimes even in rock-hard hearts.

In places where there’s no room for a tree….

in places where there is only room enough for a tiny seed. 

So be encouraged
and keep planting those seed!

Isaiah 55:11 NLT It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 

God bless you dear friend. If you were blessed, subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next post.

More Than a Jar- Planting