Little Seeds and Small Beginnings
A while back, I had a friend who experienced bouts of discouraging struggles in his relationship with the Lord. He had the strongest desire to have a close connection with God, but every time he would begin his journey of revival and personal reform, he would hit the same wall of slow progress, strong temptations, and disheartening stumbles. When he faced these setbacks, he would get discouraged and question whether hope existed for him. This constant cycle of struggle and fear would push him to depression, and my heart ached to provide some level of encouragement. So, I wrote this poem for his nineteenth birthday as a reminder to motivate him on his journey.
Honestly, which of us cannot relate to this experience of constant struggle when walking with God? We hear that “a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again “ (Proverbs 24:16). We realize that some effort must be put forth on our side, but what does that effort look like? Am I trying to save myself when trying to do good works? If I gave my heart to God long ago, and He’s made me a “new creature,” shouldn’t I be growing and moving forward rather than falling again and again? The truth was that I was also trying to understand how to find victory. As I prayed for God to grant me the words to encourage my friend, He led me to see the parallels between little seeds and our path to victory.
As I walked in the cool Autumn breeze, I noticed the long rows of corn lining the road or the pumpkin patches with their bright-colored squash. The scene was breathtaking and brought some satisfaction as I thought of my previous experience in agriculture. But I also became keenly aware of how long it must have taken to achieve these results.
I at once understood that God doesn’t rush when He creates a beautiful bloom or a sweet little baby. If the farmer were to say after only a few weeks, “I want to harvest my food today!” or an adult were to say to the baby, “Walk!” or “Talk already!” we would all roll our eyes. They are being too impatient and premature! So why are we so impatient with ourselves? God works in our hearts, even when we think there is no progress. And if we choose to consistently walk by His side, trusting His loving hand, one day, we will be able to look with satisfaction at the fruit of His labor in our lives.