I was in the place of worship while on my way to work one morning when I saw a picture of a seed. The outer coating of the seed, the visible part, was dried and hard. I watched it fall away, revealing a beautiful green, and tender sprout that had been hidden inside. I instantly knew that the seemingly dead shell had protected that inner seed through all the adversities, storms, and elements until just at the very right moment, it was time for new life to emerge!
I saw this first, as a picture of my own life; the storms and the fierce & unfavorable environmental conditions I had endured throughout the years, even as far back as those months in the womb. Even as a premie, my birth was a struggle & in many ways, it seems there my whole life has been a struggle. We all know people in life who seem to come by things easily. That has never been me but God has remained faithful through it all! I think of my children. The enemy came to try to steal while my son was in the womb and both he and my daughter have had to grow through much adversity in their own lives. As a family, we have surely endured some massive storms! God has been faithful through it all! Because He is so multidimensional, there are really many areas where the picture of the seed might fit.
John 10:10 says the thief comes in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). - Amplified. The enemy comes to steal, kill, & destroy the seed. We see this in the parable of the sower in Matthew chapter 13. In this passage, the seed sown is the message of the Kingdom of God. It describes how the evil one comes and snatches the seed away as it is sown into the hearts of men. Satan is always after the seed.
The seed is important because life begins with a seed. A seed carries inside of it the very DNA of the parent plant. The parent cannot reproduce without a seed and the enemy knows that if he can destroy a seed, then there can be no harvest that comes from that seed.
Much of what God does begins with a seed. In order to produce fruit or have a harvest, you need to have a seed. There are three main parts of a seed. It has a seed coat, an embryo, and an endosperm. The seed coat protects the embryo. I think of how God protects us. He covers us. He clothes us. He is our strength and our shield, except unlike the seed coat that falls away from the seed, God doesn't leave us. As we continue walking with Him, His presence never leaves us.
The embryo is basically a little miniature plant that for a season remains in a state of arrested development. We are created in God's image. You could say that you planted on this earth to bear fruit. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide. John 15:16 Isaiah 61: 3b - that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. You are the planting of the Lord and you are called to bear fruit!
The endosperm is the tissue that surrounds and nourishes the embryo. It is a short-lived part of the seed but is very essential. Likewise, we need spiritual nourishment is essential for us if we want to grow spiritually, bear fruit, and reproduce. What you feed is what will grow. When the conditions are just right for a seed to grow, the embryo activates and begins to germinate. The word germinate means to begin to grow. It eventually becomes a seedling as it grows out of its "container".
If you have felt discouraged due to a season of dormancy, know that there is a season to break out, there is a season of budding. Be patient with the process and allow the Lord to do what He needs to bring that new growth. He is the one who brings the growth. We just need to remain in Him, the Vine (John 15). He does the work and we do the yielding. As we yield to Him, we will yield great results!
Below are a few scriptures on seeds and budding:
Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Song of Songs 2:13-15 TPT Can you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? The early signs of my purposes and plans are bursting forth. The budding vines of new life are now blooming everywhere. The fragrance of their flowers whispers, “There is change in the air.” Arise, my love, my beautiful companion, and run with me to the higher place. For now is the time to arise and come away with me. For you are my dove, hidden in the split-open rock. It was I who took you and hid you up high in the secret stairway of the sky. Let me see your radiant face and hear your sweet voice. How beautiful your eyes of worship and lovely your voice in prayer. You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together.
- Learning to live authentically...
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