“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” – Psalms 65:11
If you’ve ever planted a garden, or grass, you know the critical first step.
You have to loosen the soil. Really get in there and dig it up. Ignore this task, and failure inevitably follows.
Seeds left atop hard soil won’t germinate. They’ll wither in the sun, get washed away by rain, or be eaten by birds. They need to be worked into the soil, sometimes several inches deep, to access its nutrients and protection.
Tilling the soil has other benefits, too. Water and oxygen penetrate. Fertilizer reaches a depth where it nourishes young roots.
Farmers, who grow crops on a large scale, can go nearly a foot deep with their tilling machines. Thank heavens we amateur growers don’t have to put in such effort!
Thousands of years ago, many, many people farmed for a living. The Bible is filled with literal and metaphorical references to growing and harvesting. There’s a powerful lesson to be learned.
Are You Ready to Harvest?
“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.” – Psalms 126:5
God has a plan for every one of us. He wants us to reap a bountiful harvest of love, joy and fulfilment.
First, though, we need to be open to His planting. Like the soil, we can’t be hard and inflexible. We need to be broken up. The conditions for spiritual growth have to be created.
Similar to a farmer, God tills us at a deep level. He goes far into our souls. Only there can He plant the seeds to fulfil His plans for us.
Just like farmers who work long hours, God toils continuously. His will cannot be denied.
We’re not always open to his tilling, though.
The Need for Tilling
“Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us.” – Psalms 67:6
When life goes swimmingly, it can get easy to forget about God’s blessings. If challenges are few, so, often, is reflection. We get cocky. Our hearts become like the hard soil: infertile and unwelcoming.
Until, of course, inevitable difficulties arise: health issues. Marital problems. Business struggles. Financial stress.
Suddenly, we remember God’s presence in our lives. “What should I do?” we ask Him. “Don’t you love me anymore?”
Oh, He does … which is exactly why your comfortable existence has been interrupted. God is trying to tell you something. Yet your heart remains hard soil. Before you can hear Him, God has to do some tilling.
Embrace His work. God only tills us so we can grow. Be thankful that He is digging deep, to snap us out of our blissfully ignorant reverie. Nothing good grows there.
All this tilling has a purpose. God is working something wonderful in you. To make it happen, though, we often need to first be broken up, and opened to the elements that nurture growth. Understand this, and God’s message will become far clearer.
We are His gardens. God wants to plant seeds of discipleship. The more open we are to His tilling, the less we need to be broken up.
(If you’re ready to embrace Christ, He’s ready for you. Visit C Suite for Christ to join in Christ-centered fellowship with other professionals. Submit a prayer request for a pressing need in your life. Follow C Suite for Christ on LinkedIn and Facebook. Questions? Contact Paul M. Neuberger at (414) 313-8338 or pneuberger@csuiteforchrist.com.)
