Before my grandfather passed away, I remember when he moved out into the country and started farming.  He would take my cousins and me to ride on the tractor. We would not ride in the cab, but down on the equipment where we could spray weeds as he drove the tractor.  I have fond memories of this. I remember the Texas sun beating down, but enjoying shooting the weeds with a weed-killing water gun. I daydreamed of being a superhero shooting down the bad guys.

I remember seeing the little sprouts coming up out of the hard, brown dirt of West Texas.  And all of that time, I never remember my grandad being worried that nothing would come out of the ground.  He was very concerned about watering and killing the weeds, but the fear that nothing would grow never entered his mind.  I remember Paul’s words:

1 Corinthians 3:6-7

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Life sprouting out of a dead seed placed under the dirt in a dark place is nothing short of miraculous.  It is the story of God bringing life from death. It is who He is. It is what He does. We, as fellow workers with the Lord, are nothing because even our efforts are Holy Spirit-inspired as He calls us to do good works.  All glory belongs to God and God alone. He has ensured everything necessary for life is present. We can trust this. In fact, we can rest in this. And that brings us to our Verse of the Day:

Zephaniah 3:16-17

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

The LORD your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing. (ESV)

My heart stops when I read those words, ‘he will quiet you by his love.’  The King James Version of the Bible says, “He will rest in His love.” The word being translated into ‘quiet’ or ‘rest’ is an agricultural term that can mean plowing the ground.  The meaning is that the Lord has done the work. He has provided the seed, Jesus Christ. He has provided servants to plant, to water, to weed. And His is the power that brings life out of sunless soil.

In His love, He has already done everything necessary to create life in us even out of the dark moments.  It is done. The Apostle Paul says to the church, “You are God’s field.” All He has done, He has done because He loves us.  We can trust this. We can rest.

Salvation transforms us into God’s field where He has made all the necessary arrangments that each day, we will experience what we need to grow.  Each moment has His Provision for our growth. To know this, accept this, believe this with all our heart is to rest in the love of a God who would ensure that life is always bursting forth.  There is no season so harsh that we cannot thrive. He will send His workers to love, comfort, teach, inspire, move, motivate, discipline, rebuke, cherish. And should His workers fail, He will come to us in the whisper of the Holy Spirit.  Through these, the Seed of Christ, will burst through no matter the storm, wind, drought, flood, or pestilence.

This is a difficult season that we are in, but He is God over every season.  And even now, He is giving to us all we need to prosper, to thrive, to experience life bursting through the darkness.  As we acknowledge His love for us that moves Him to finish the work in us He began, our fears are softened. Our panic is subdued.  Our worry calmed. Our terror dimmed.

Our field has been plowed.  His Seed has been planted. His people water and feed our soul.  Life is alive within us. Our soul rests. Our spirit does not fear.  Our hearts are not troubled. He will do what He has promised. Say it aloud to yourself over and over again, “He quiets me with His love.”

Leave me a comment.  How does this Scripture help you in your fears and worries?

Live Blessed and Be a Blessing!