Seeds of Hope

                                           
                                                    

                                                     

                                       

                                            

Discouragement.  Loneliness.  Wondering if we're of any value to the world around us. Despair.

Seeds.

Seeds that left to themselves yield a crop of weeds and certainly not joy.

These thoughts and feelings are real and yet they're not the only thing that is real.

Remember, they are a feeling, but so is hope and joy and love.

The love of God, the complete joy He gives, and the hope of all things eternal and of lasting value are just as real.  In fact, they are more real and a Greater Truth because they are rooted in the person of Jesus and He trumps everything.

Those are also seeds.

A seed is planted in the soil, dies, takes root and bears fruit.

Jesus lived, died and was buried in the ground.  And He rose from that ground in life.

Some fruit is sour tasting and bitter.  Other fruit is sweet and delicious and delightful to taste.

Which seed-bearing plants am I letting go to bear fruit?

What are some intentional watering actions I can do to produce the sweet fruit?

Remember the fruit is simply the product of a plant.

Jesus said in John 15... In Me ye shall bear much fruit.  In Him, can we truly bear the lasting fruit.

Another aspect of seeds are the things that are done to encourage or bless others. We don't always know the power of encouragement and how it may influence a life for life.  

Plant a seed of faith for someone who may be struggling to believe.

Plant a seed of a compliment on a job done or a characteristic displayed.

Plant a seed of trust in the goodness of God and believe His Great Truths.

And then in all reality, seeds produce at different time lengths.  When you buy a packet of seeds it will tell you the approximate time of maturity.  Some say 28 days.  Others say 45 or 90.

Some seeds produce this year, some the next.

Plant an acorn and you get an oak tree, but not for years.

So in our planting whether it's our life or another's life, remember the fruit bearing is a process and the maturity date varies.  And sometimes I wonder if there even is a maturity date because as long as I have life, God is changing me from glory to glory.  We really don't 'arrive' until we arrive at the gates of eternity.

Give grace to yourself and to someone else.  Delight in the small fruits of today knowing that He who begins a good work will complete it.

Abide in the Vine of Jesus and the fruit will be a result.  

And I want to recognize the season of darkness or deep grief or simply those moments when we wonder where is God....

That's winter.  And in all reality life is happening in places we don't see or understand completely.

And in the season of winter plants need the rest from fruit-bearing to replenish their root system and go deeper.

And in ways we don't see clearly, those dark seasons can be times when we learn to understand the love of God more deeply.  When a character or aspect of God becomes more clear and real to us.

So in that season, trust the Father that He is holding you and believe in His love.  Something is happening, you just don't see it and it's okay if you don't get it.  He asks you to take the next step. In faith. Believing Him.

And someday, we will be complete.  Someday all things will be clearly seen and understood.  Someday the fruit will be mature.