I have been struggling for quite a while with some of my hopes and dreams that I have trusted in God for that have died. I have been mourning those things and refusing to give up the last shred of hope which is in the One who can resurrect those things. After all, Father saw to it that His Son was resurrected surely He can resurrect my hopes and dreams, surely He can fulfill the personal promises He has made me through the years.
It seems like God was smiling this morning because He hit me with a sermon, followed it up with inspired words to a friend, and knocked me out with not one but 4 devotions that all said the same thing.
First off, I know that these words were written in a different context but the word is alive and this is how it is speaking to me today, maybe it will illuminate for you too.
Here is the message I was given this morning over my circumstances. It has to die to germinate and grow into something beautiful, and He will make it come to pass.
“I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.” John 12:24
Just like a seed has to die to germinate sometimes there are things in our lives that have to die for God to grow them. And just like a butterfly has to struggle to free itself from it’s cocoon sometimes we have to struggle for a while before God is ready for us to fly.
Mark 8:35 says “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Sometimes just as this verse speaks of our salvation through dying to our flesh we have to see things in our lives die to make a way for God to work. If we’re really seeking Him and have the desire for His will then we shouldn’t be surprised when the most prized things in our lives are the very things that He wants us to die to.
The second part of this lesson that He gave me this morning came with this verse and a devotion to go with it.
“Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.“
“It takes God time to answer prayer. We often fail to give God a chance in this respect. It takes time for God to paint a rose. It takes time for God to grow an oak. It takes time for God to make bread from wheat fields. He takes the earth. He pulverizes. He softens. He enriches. He wets with showers and dews. He warms with life. He gives the blade, the stock, the amber grain, and then at last the bread for the hungry.
All this takes time. Therefore we sow, and till, and wait, and trust, until all God’s purpose has been wrought out. We give God a chance in this matter of time. We need to learn this same lesson in our prayer life. It takes God time to answer prayer.—J. H. M.”
Cowman, L. B. (1925). Streams in the Desert (pp. 120–121). Los Angeles, CA: The Oriental Missionary Society.
I am blown away and encouraged by the message that He gave me this morning. I pray that if you are in a season of your life in which you need this that you will be too, blown away by God’s amazing love and commitment to us and to our lives.
Gracious Father God, thank You for sharing this with me this morning. Thank You for inspiring me to share it with my brothers and sisters too. I love You God! Open the eyes of our hearts today and help us to see You. Take the things in our lives that need to die and show us the glorious miracle of resurrection and growth in our lives. Show us how you can make those things blossom and produce fruit. Comfort us and encourage us as we mourn while we wait. We ask these things of you in the power of the name of Christ Jesus our King. AMEN!
This Narrow Path... 