THE GREEN THUMB
Part A: Context
A little over a while ago, I mentioned my plant, Bethel and the notion of a green thumb. (RIP Bethel - 🌚🥲)
I have been fascinated by the term green thumb since the day I learnt of it. A green thumb is a person with a natural talent for growing plants.
Their talent is in great part supplemented by their love for gardening. Really, only love can sustain the work that goes into gardening. 😂 Apparently, plants die when they feel unloved. (Bethel kyewankola🙂↔️)
Part B : The Sower
Once again (and to no great suprise), I found myself in a bit of a situation last year where I was having a hard time believing God’s promises. God is so merciful. In His mercy, He (painfully) reminded me about the parable of The Sower.
Briefly, The Sower (Jesus Christ) goes out to sow seed (The Word of God) evenly across all the land.
Some seeds fall along the path, and represent the Christian who hears The Word but hardly pays any attention to it. As such, the devourer is all too happy to steal it.
Some seeds fall along the rocky path, quickly spring up but are scorched just as quickly because they lack deep roots. The rocky path represents those who hear The Word and are initially excited, but fall away when faced with persecution on account of the same Word because it was not firmly rooted in their heart. The testing of their faith does not produce results.
Some seeds fall among thorns, and are quickly choked up by the thorns- external circumstances which find that we barely have enough resilience on the inside of us to handle that kind of pressure.
Finally, some seed falls on the good, fertile soil. They are, first, firmly rooted into the ground and eventually sprout above the earth, bearing good and continuous fruit. They are not destroyed by the devourer, do not fall away in the face of persecution and are resistant to thorns.
Part C: The Spirit as a Green Thumb
There is no life outside God. The Word teaches us that
“It is not your strength, but it is God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work, that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfil your purposes for His good pleasure.”
The parable of The Sower is laced with multiple revelations, but I’d like to focus on just two.
A. The soil was fertile long before The Sower went out to sow
Overtime, I have learnt that God does not speak to waste words. No Word proceeds from The Father that is meant to carry no weight. We are called to carry a certain weight of preparation knowing His Word is precious for us.
In His nature as a Loving Father, God does not desire that The Word which goes out concerning you falls to the ground. He does not desire that at the time He releases a Word, we are rocky ground, planted along a path, or even surrounded by thorns waiting to choke the revelation.
Therefore, His Spirit - our most wonderful Helper - tends to us long before The Word is released, making us fertile ground. The Spirit aids us in our weaknesses.
“In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.”
Romans 8:26 AMP
Agriculturally speaking, the process of tending a garden speaks to preparing it in advance for the sowing season. It involves clearing weeds, loosening the soil, applying fertilizers, softening any hard lumps, removing any rocks etc.
Biblically, tending can mean (among many other things) that The Spirit transforms your heart from being rocky ground that cannot hold the weight of a seed, to firm and fertile ground adequately nourished to support its growth. It involves weeding out false doctrines, the lies of the enemy, hurt and pain - healing us enough until we can trust God. Again, among many other things.
This season of preparation often feels repetitive and drawn out. Long. It may manifest as seasons of waiting (about the particular issue you are believing Him for). It may be knocking on the wrong doors. It may be moments of searing pain. The preparation season takes on many faces.
Thankfully, no moment and season is ever wasted in The Lord. No prayer is ever wasted in Him. With the right yielding, The Spirit tunes our ears and hearts to discern God’s voice and Word when it comes, hear it right and apply it not only for our own selves but His Church.
“Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. Habakkuk 2:2 NLT”
There is a reward for waiting right.
“For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; Hebrews 6:7 AMP”
B. After The Word goes out
(Side note: If there is anything I have learnt because of this blog, it’s science.😌)
As it turns out, immediately a seed is sown, it absorbs water from the soil to activate its energy for growth. Consistent supply of water from within the soil is crucial for the seed’s growth process. I found this very interesting considering The Spirit is described as the Living Water. ☺️💜 The soil (our hearts) must be indwelt with The Spirit of The Living God.
“He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’ ” [Is 58:11; John 4:14] But He was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him [as Savior] were to receive afterward. John 7:38-39 AMP”
After the seed has absorbed water from the soil, its radicle emerges and grows downward into the soil as the roots to anchor the plant and absorb even more water and nutrients.
The seed grows downward first. After it has been firmly anchored in the soil, its shoot can then grow upward towards the sunlight and eventually absorb its own energy from the sun even as it grows into a full size plant bearing more and more fruit.
Likewise, there is a process to absorbing God’s Word until it bears fruit in our lives. The success of this process depends ultimately on how yielded we are to the Spirit as He does His most perfect in us.
God causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Our role is to yield. Yield our time. Our often misplaced understanding. Our thoughts. Our own desires. Our ears.
So, hypothetically (and this is speaking for everyone), when I receive The Word - I sit with it. I mull over it. I go over it numerous times in my head and my heart. I meditate on it. Read more about it. I allow His Spirit to teach me. Journal about it. Recite it. Affirm it.
(“But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:29 AMP)
I ask more questions. His Spirit answers, He is the Spirit of wisdom. I go over The Word until it is firmly settled in my heart. Until it is deeply buried and anchored in my spirit, knowing, without a shadow of doubt, that He meant every Word and is not a liar. He who promised is faithful.
Only after The Word has been firmly settled in my heart can it spring forth onto the earth to bear fruit and more fruit.
It carries more than sufficient resilience to withstand any thorns, weeds, persecution, doubt, all the cares of this world. Enough fruit that is able to benefit all those He has planted in your path.
“It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden herbs; and it puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky are able to make nests and live under its shade. Mark 4:31-32 AMP”
This, is how we partner with The Sower to ensure His Word concerning us does not return to Him void.
