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Waiting in the Field

“So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” -1 Corinthians 3:7

This year, as an Easter gift, my fiancé and I bought my two nieces plant seeds, dirt, and decorative planters. We wanted them to experience the excitement of working with their hands in the dirt, and the blessing that eventually comes as the reward of your work. So, we gave my youngest niece, Natalie, strawberry seeds and my older niece, Abbie, wildflower seeds. We carefully (or not so carefully with a 3-year-old) planted the seed, covered it with soil, watered it, and put the planter in the kitchen windowsill to catch some rays and watch it grow!

A little while after planting day, we visited the girls and found that the wildflower plants had already begun to sprout. How exciting it was for the girls to point out to us where the things had started to crop up! The strawberry plant, however, had not yet yielded anything from its dirt, but we thought maybe the two just grew at different rates. So, we waited in hope.

The next visit was very much the same, the girls proudly showed off their growing wildflower plant, but there was no hint of growth or green springing up from the strawberry planter.

Fast forward to today, almost 4 months later, and that wildflower plant has grown so tall that the entire window is literally covered up by the plant. My sister had to move it so they could get light in the kitchen again! As for the strawberry plant… it’s still as empty as the day we planted it… but why!?

Who knows. Maybe we added too much water. Maybe we didn’t plant the bulbs far enough apart. Maybe it didn’t get the right kind of soil or the right amount of sunshine. We don’t know the reason, but as we waited for those berries that we had poured time and energy into, and lovingly tended, it still seemed to just be an empty and barren box of dirt. What a frustrating wait.

Friends, I confess to you that this is often how I feel as I wait to see faith sprout up in the lives of those I love who do not know the Lord. After years of praying, loving, and reaching out to people I love who don’t know Jesus (admittedly very imperfectly), to see seemingly no sign of faith growth happen frustrates me. I ask, “Why Lord,” “When Lord,” and “How much longer, God?” I desire to see that growth for my friends, family, and neighbors who don’t know the Lord. I want them to know and experience the love of God, and the peace that surpasses understanding. I want them to have that abundant life, and when I don’t see it happening, I can start to lose heart.

Do you experience this too? Have you felt the deep desire for those you love to know the Lord? Have you wondered about or been frustrated as to why there still seems to be no growth of faith? You’re not alone in that friends, but the truth is, we too can wait in hope. This is where we can cling to the verse listed above from 1 Corinthians 3:7. The apostle Paul reminds us that, “…neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” Yes, we have the wonderful privilege of being able to plant and water seeds, but it is THE LORD alone who causes that faith to be and to grow. And while at times that may feel frustrating, it is actually quite a gift. It is not up to us to convert and “create faith.” We are simply called to be faithful to plant and to water, and to watch God make faith grow.

And the beauty in that we serve a faithful God, whose timing is more perfect than we could know. Even if I do not understand the Lord’s timing, I can see that it has always ended up being the best! In knowing that God works in His own perfect timing and in His own way, I am learning that just because my eyes don’t see growth, doesn’t mean that underground growth hasn’t already begun! Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there, and doesn’t mean God isn’t moving! We can wait in hope for the Lord to make that growth happen in the lives of those we love.

Last week I had the incredible gift of seeing God’s growth happen in His perfect time. Someone I have prayed for, for years told me they had seen God answer their prayer and that they were interested in moving forward in their faith. After countless questions of when God would develop this faith, it was an amazing blessing to hear those words come from the mouth of that precious loved one. God’s timing is perfect, He is making the growth happen, and just because I don’t see the leafy greens, doesn’t mean He’s not working on it under the surface.

So, friends, as you wait in the field, planting, watering, and scanning with hawk-like eyes for that green growth of faith, remember to be faithful to plant and water well, to trust God’s timing, and be ready for the moment that He brings those plants shooting up out of the ground, and asks you to harvest. He is faithful, and I pray we will be faithful and patient as we wait for His perfect timing.

Laura Claus
Pastor of Outreach/Missions

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