...
Added 2023-11-21 12:00:04 +0000 UTCGood morning!
Yesterday, I began a topic on “when bad things happen” and how we perceive these things.
It is hard for human minds to understand or step far enough back to see the big picture. We tend toward wanting soft and easy all the time. But, God is loving and just. He knows what will actually be good in the long run and what we need in the moment.
Something I really loved pondering this past week was this metaphor about a farmer.
Listen to me;
listen, and pay close attention.
Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
Does he not finally plant his seeds—
black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—
each in its proper way,
and each in its proper place?
The farmer knows just what to do,
for God has given him understanding.
A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin;
rather, it is beaten with a light stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin;
instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.
Grain for bread is easily crushed,
so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
He threshes it under the wheels of a cart,
but he doesn’t pulverize it.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
and he gives the farmer great wisdom.
Isaiah 28:23-29 NLT
This metaphor reminds us that in different seasons and for different purposes, God uses different things to bring about a great harvest in us. He doesn’t go overboard and He doesn’t just let us go to ruin. He is a wonderful teacher!
Because we can trust Him, we can praise Him, even if we don’t understand right now.
Application: What season are you in? Do you feel God is plowing, sowing, threshing or grinding right now? Could you thank and praise Him for that before you understand it?
