The Seed First Needs to Die
"When a farmer plows in order to plant, does he plow without stopping? Does he keep on breaking up the soil and making the field level?" - Isaiah 28:24
When a seed is planted it first needs to die, because that is the only way that we can come into the fullness, intention of God’s will for us, That is to be whole. Many of us think of all the good that comes from the planted seed, mostly relating to the fruit it will eventually bear. God’s main intention is to make us whole, bring us to completion, but He also looks at the process of what it takes to get there. In Isaiah 28:24, the Prophet is indicating that the Lord, like a farmer, performs different kinds of work. He is not always doing one thing, or the same thing, but He is always at work. When a seed undergoes transformation, it goes through a process called death. The seed in its original form must die, also known as “break apart” for the new life to emerge and grow.
The same thing happens when we come to our faith in Jesus. We are called to come as we are, dirty, but Jesus never intended for us to stay as we are. In the process of planting a seed, the first step is known as rupture and transformation. Germination refers to the seed’s hard outer shell breaking for the embryo inside to awaken. This makes me think of us, how the world often shapes us and hardens our shell. Bitterness attaches to us, unforgiveness, gossiping, swearing, lying, cheating, and addictions. The shell of sin covers God’s true intention for our spirit. Elohim, like a farmer, knows the expectation for our end design. The work that He does in our lives daily is a step-by-step process to lead us to our finale.
I remember when I started gardening, how much distress I was under because I had no idea what I was doing. I bought a bunch of seeds from the Dollar Tree gardening section, and I thought it was going to be simple: you just plant them all in soil, water, and wait for them to grow. I quickly came to discover this is by far not the case, in fact there was a lot of knowledge I was lacking. Different seeds, have different requirements. How deep you need to plant them, the type of lighting they need, the environmental expectations, and how often they need watering. I was no true gardener to know the process it will take for the seeds to transform, but God is! Every process He takes us through is not to be wasted, but to help us into the transformation process required for us.
When I came back to the Lord, He stripped me of everything I had and built for myself. I went through an intense pruning process and a two-year isolation season. Through the process, I thought it was obscure and unreasonable that God would bring me to my lowest point. Fast forward five years, to where I am in my life today, I see and understand the essence of why God did what He did. God starts with the end in mind; He looks to who he created us to be and starts ripping away the things that do not align. Being human, I was only looking at what I could see. During that time, I thought it was heartless for God to separate me from people who were a huge part of my life then. Now, looking at the God-centered people God has brought into my life, I see just how necessary the removal was, because the people of my past could not have helped me grow into who I am today.
Proverbs 3:5 instructs us to lean not on our own understanding. How often do we lean on our understanding when we are facing trials and tribulations? We look at our lives, which may be broken into pieces, and think God is not fair. But what if, in fact, it is in the brokenness where we discover God’s sovereignty? I look at a lot of the good things in my life today and see how almost everything grew from a place of brokenness. God does His best work in the buried, dark places of our lives. Someone asked me recently what the turning point was in my faith journey, and I came to the conclusion that the point of change was when I died to myself.
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Real growth and transformation begin when we reach the end of ourselves. We have to decrease in order for God to increase in us. Think about buying new pairs of socks. I first get rid of the bad old pairs before placing the new ones in my drawer. God wants to do the same in your life. He wants to remove your old character, your bad habits, your addictions, your old vocabulary, your old way of living, and replace them with something new. There can be no transformation without death; we have to be like a seed planted for growth.
I cannot even count on my hands how many times I walked through seasons of my life where I felt completely broken. I also know that there has been no proof of growth in my life without there first being proof of breaking. The truth is, transformation is far from a lovely process, but the final product is beautiful. T.D. Jakes once said, “God never promised that carrying our own cross would be easy, but as our faith is tested, He’s faithful to show up in our suffering.” God comes to meet us in the cracks of our brokenness. He shows up with potter hands, crazy glue, and a master plan to make us new and whole. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Maybe today you are not where you need to be spiritually, maybe you are reaching the end of wanting to live by your own terms, maybe you are already at your rock bottom. Wherever you are in your journey, God wants to meet you there today. He wants to break the ground your life has been built on, and rebuild it, and make it whole and complete. I know the pain of your suffering seems too much to bear, and you are wondering when you will reach the other side, and what is waiting on the other side. I want to encourage you today to put your hope back in Jesus, the one who started the good work in you. The one who called you by name from your mother’s womb, the one who declares, “You are mine.”
Today the Lord is saying,
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2)
He is the God who never leaves or forsakes us!
“Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:13)
God’s plans and purposes cannot be reversed or stopped.
God wants to transform you from the inside out, and He has a good plan for just how he wants to do that. Lean in today, and surrender, give God your life, and watch just how He will make all things new.
Faithfully Yours,
S.J