A Seed With Persistence
“But we also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Romans 5:3-5
The pavement
seemed to stretch on endlessly on this warm Mississippi morning as I hurriedly
tried to get in my fitness walk before the thermometer maxed out at 95
degrees. Even in the 80-degree
temperature, the asphalt was radiating with heat and offered no spots of cool
relief, not even in the shade.
As I pounded away
thinking how wonderful it would be to be finished and home in the cool house,
something caught my eye. A small flower…
growing up through the pavement! I
thought it must be a mirage of some sort. Plants cannot penetrate the weight
and thickness of concrete. But it did.
How did that delicate flower that could be
snapped with one finger work its way up through that dense asphalt? Talk about persistence and patience! It started as a tiny seed that fell into a
crack and got washed down under the roadway. Let’s consider what is contained
in a seed, though.
A tiny seed
contains all the components to become a sizable plant. Its future and growth
are all contained inside its shell. It
needs moisture from rain and needs light and heat from the sunshine. But that
embryo has an endosperm food supply and a coating to protect it until it
reaches fertile soil.
As it sprouted,
the seedling bumped against the hardness of the concrete but, tiny bit by tiny
bit, it found a small crack in the pavement. It stuck a little green thread
though the crack to reach for the sunlight.
Then all of a sudden, it broke through to the top! Ahhhh… sunshine and
rain water could get to the plant and strengthen its growth.
Life throws us
into the pavement sometimes. We feel
like there is no way to get to the light.
But remember, God has placed within us everything we need to be
victorious – faith, trust, and an eternal perspective.
Jesus told His
disciples they only needed faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, as small
as the period at the end of this sentence.
With that level of faith, we can “move the mountains,” or sprout through
the pavement crack.
“…Truly
I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, ‘move here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
Patience is so
required in these times, and perseverance is a must. We know that if we keep
our face toward the Light, He will give us strength to fight through the trials
and challenges we encounter.
There was a
particular year in my life when I felt like I was “under the pavement.” I was going through a divorce, my father
passed away, my teenage son was going through a very difficult time, I got bit
by a dog (on my fitness walk!), and trial after trial just kept pressing me
under the pavement.
I kept trying to
push my fragile stem into the crack and up into the light but, each time I did,
there seemed to be a wall. I never lost
my faith; I never lost my joy; and I never lost my praise. I knew
the Father of Lights had His eye on me. Surely enough the next year brought
nourishment for my soul, and I was able to bask in the sunshine of God’s
love. There were those who were surprised
to hear what was going on in my life and shocked that I could grow through
those circumstances. I would always point them to the One Who Gives Me
Strength.
How did I endure
when the struggle seemed too unbearable?
How do we stand when the challenges push us down? My nephew and pastor for over 20 years, Mike
Fields, once said in a sermon, “borrow joy from your future.”
Picture the joyful
end. Visualize the victory. As Jesus
hung on the cross, Scripture says He endured the sufferings because of the joy
set before Him. He knew that He would
defeat death, hell,
and the grave, experience the joy of the resurrection and ultimately be seated
at the right hand of God.
So… “can we really
rejoice in advance?” Yes! We can choose
to “prejoice.” How do we add the “P” to rejoice? Prayer, Persistence Patience,
and Praise. We must change our focus
and concentrate on the joy that will surely be in our future. If we will do our part, our Creator will
surely do His and we will break through and bloom for His glory.
