I hope you took some time to crumble some of the big dirt clods you may have identified in your life. Selfishness, easily offended, short-temper, anger, gossip, insecurity – yep, these are just some of the things that may have surfaced as you were tilling the soil. They will block the proper development of the seeds we are about to plant if they are broken up and removed.
Let me say before we go any further that identifying and breaking up these hard places is a positive thing. We can only remove what we know about it – ignorance is not bliss.
All through the Bible we have examples of seed planting. It starts in the Garden of Eden.
“God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30 And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.” Genesis 1:29-30 ERV
The process of planting seed and producing a harvest was enacted at the very beginning. God created the earth out of nothing but after that original creation every thing has been supplied by the planting of seeds.
It’s important to realize what the seed is that we are asked to plant.
“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:9-11 CEV
The seed God has given us for life-changing harvest is His word. He says, confidently, that His word will not return to Him without accomplishing EVERYTHING He sends it to do. God provides us with good seed!
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22 KJV
“Again Jesus said: God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29 Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.” Mark 4:26-30 CEV
So let me repeat how important it is that we have good ground for planting. God won’t force us to make a good field free from stones, hard dirt clods and weeds but He does tell us the seed won’t grow well unless we do.
Before I ever gave this teaching to you the Lord dealt with me on some hard soil in my heart that needed to be broken up and made ready for planting. Our garden can be as large as we want, we just need to prepare the ground.
I think it’s best to start with a small plot – watch the seed grow and then plant more. Make your ground ready, we’ll start planting some seeds in tomorrow’s teaching.