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Complete Destruction Has Its Purpose // "For a seed to achieve its greatest expression it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, the insides come out, and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth; it would look like complete destruction" - unknown

Ultimately if His likeness and His beauty are meant to shine through us, we will have to endure a process of sowing and harvesting. Just think of a seed being planted. The farmer has to wait for the harvest season to bring it back out of the ground. What happened in between the sowing and the harvesting was the wintertime, where it felt like everything was dead.  But then, right as the seed started to sprout, the cracking of the shell and everything on the inside had to come out. It appeared to be destroyed. But it’s in the process of the sprouting where the beauty of the plant and its greater purpose is revealed. 

Even the process of waiting or the growing feels like complete destruction; but when you surrender and trust the ONE who is sovereign, you understand it's even in the broken parts that Jesus draws near and does some of his best work.  

In the seasons where nothing seems to be sprouting, even if we have some momentum but not enough to produce a big result or see a tree bursting forward; it's in those times you feel like everything that is broken is being stripped off that you will eventually get to see what time in the darkness produced.  

After the seed has awakened and the ugly shell has been stripped away, others begin to notice the growth you already have experienced.  The beauty of strength and character that was developed is finally noticed. Suddenly, perseverance and endurance become something you understand, and you are stronger because of the time it took. Your hope has been refined and you finally understand; the seed that was planted in this season isn’t dead; it's just been sleeping.   

When you believe God can do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ask, hope or imagine; reality begins to shift! 

It takes faith to trust God will do the work in between the sowing and the harvest. Leaving the seed alone to grow in the ground is perhaps the hardest part of the wait. Trusting God to produce things beneath the surface in the dark is challenging.  But as it says in the word, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy” so take heart my friend. All those things you sowed in tears will be redeemed. They will be restored. Those seeds that have been planted are NOT dead. Trust God to eventually bring forth a harvest that will only cause you to praise Him for all He did. 

Trust him. He's got good plans for you.

RESPOND: 

What have you sowed recently? 

Is there anything you have seen God answer after a season of ‘seed sowing’ that you can praise him for now?  Take time to praise God for His timing and all He is doing

PRAYER: 

Lord thank you for the things I wished were answered time and time again immediately weren’t.  Thank  you for the way you showed up in way bigger ways.  Thank you for the hope you instill in me by knowing you are good. By resting in the knowledge that you always are at work behind the scenes, I look forward to praising you when the harvest comes.  Lord thank you for how you have worked in my life to allow me time to step into the fullness of what you want me to experience at different times.  Lord thank you for answers you’ve already set into motion. Lord thank you for allowing certain seasons of ‘burial’ so you could dramatically work in my life.  Even if right now feels like one of those wintery seasons, let me lean into you and trust you have a plan and you will allow me to walk in the harvest and truly reap with shouts of joy! I praise you for working on my behalf and for my good. May you get ALL GLORY and HONOR when people see you show up and show off in my life. Amen