Planting Spiritual Seeds

Last month I wrote about honoring God and how I had failed to do that. Immediately following He began to speak to me about the spiritual seeds I’ve sown.

My initial thought was to read Haggai, but the specific verses running through my mind were Habakkuk 3:17–19. “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” (NLT).

That day I was feeling like I was there in that barren land. But no matter how fruitless things look in my life, the Lord is my shepherd, and He will take care of me in every way.

When Things Look Awful

After reading those verses in Habakkuk, I still felt led to read Haggai. So I did.
Wow! It fell right in line with the verses from Habakkuk. My harvest has felt exactly like what was described in 2:14–17, falling far short of expectations. The Israelites weren’t planting spiritual seeds, but their spiritual lives were a mess. They had turned away from God. Consequently, their physical harvest fell short.

As I read further, the Lord quickened verse 19, “I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you” (NLT). This answers the dire circumstances of Hab. 3:17–19. No matter how it looks, God takes care of us.

When we plant corn seeds, we expect corn. If we plant pumpkin seeds, we expect pumpkins. Our spiritual seeds work the same. If you need a new job, ask the Lord. Give an offering at church as a seed for that new job. “Jesus, I give this offering as my seed for a new job.” Then trust and activate your faith for the Lord to answer that prayer and grow that seed.

Ask, Knock, Seek

“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? (Luke 11:10–11 NLT). If you ask for provision to pay the rent, God is not going to make your refrigerator break down. Are you praying for good yet expecting God to bring bad?

A seed contains all that’s needed to create the plant. We do not make it grow; we merely plant it. God makes it grow (1 Cor. 3:6–9). We nurture the seed by watering it, fertilizing it if needed, and pulling the weeds out around it. We nurture our spiritual seeds by standing in faith and proclaiming the verses God has given us that relate to our seed.

“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous” (2 Cor. 9:10–11a NLT).

Plant your seeds and expect your harvest.