It was noon. Only a third of the way through my day. I wanted to give up. I wanted to lock myself in my bedroom until evening would grant me formal permission to quit and fall asleep.
Did someone die? No.
Did I receive troubling news? No.
Did my husband lose his job? Nope.
Then what? What, you ask, could possibly spiral you into such melodrama?
Just gardening.
What?! Gardening? As in soil-and-seeds gard-en-ing?
Yep.
If you’ve kept up with recent blog posts then you’ll understand that I’m not referring to gardening in the traditional, earthly sense of planting seeds and growing crops. But metaphorically we’ve been discussing spiritual gardening. In the post What’s Causing The Quarrels and Fights Among You? we were warned about some vicious weeds that tend to creep up in the soil of our hearts. In Spiritual Gardening For Dummies we talked about the need to plant seeds if we want to produce a harvest of righteousness. And in The Master Gardener we discovered the most liberating truth in spiritual gardening: we are not the ones who actually produce the harvest (and, yes, this is good news)!
This is Jesus’s gardening guarantee: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) Ahhhh… remain in Him and you WILL bear much fruit! That’s encouraging.
But I have to ask you, yes you – fellow gardener, laborer, mother, father, pastor, volunteer, evangelist, teacher, caretaker, student – do you ever wonder…
…Am I really making any difference here?…
…Does what I do matter to anyone?…
…Could my time be better spent elsewhere?…
…Am I stupid to think a harvest is even possible?…
Do you ever want to give up on your own efforts to plow, plant, water, weed, and harvest?
Gardening is hard work – in both the physical and spiritual realms! Now, I remind you that I am NOT a green thumb, but rather what they call a ‘black thumb’. I don’t have a garden. I don’t want a garden. Why? Because it’s too much work. Oh don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of wearing cute flowery mud boots and a darling sunhat to frolic in my garden for the afternoon! – but really those boots and hat are better suited as decor for my entryway. And the thoughts of feeding my family and friends nutritious fruits and vegetables that I (me!) labored to produce would be quite a reward. But no. Still not worth the work – for me.
But when it comes to spiritual gardening, I’m in! I see the value. I want the harvest. The reward is worth the work! But I still get tired.
The Apostle Paul encourages, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV). Even still, I do grow weary… I do want to give up… and I do question whether the harvest will ever come.
Do you?
Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
Does he not finally plant his seeds…each in its proper way, and each in its proper place?
The farmer knows just what to do,
for God has given him understanding…
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
and he gives the farmer great wisdom.
Isaiah 28: 24-26,29
Don’t you love when God asks rhetorical questions?! … I can almost hear Him saying, “Now, now… don’t get so discouraged. Do you really think you’ll be plowing forever? And do you really believe I’d leave you to do all this work on your own? You have no idea how to plant seeds in their proper way and place. But I do.”
God knows that the things He’s called us to are beyond our abilities – He knows this! And He does it on purpose – both for our good and His glory! But we’re not left in the fields to figure out how to farm on our own. “The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding.” (Isaiah 28:26) The Lord of the harvest offers to teach you and I exactly how and where to plant different seeds; He delights to give specific wisdom for specific situations, if we will seek Him for it. That’s exciting to me!
But that’s not all! Jesus isn’t only the Master Gardener, the Lord Of The Harvest, and the Wonderful Teacher. He’s also the Divine Thresher. Listen to these details as Isaiah continues his farming speech…
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.
Isaiah 28:27-29
What’s the point of this? Well, I don’t think the Lord’s intent was simply to coach farmers on how to thresh cumin and wheat. No, I think God is giving us insight into His own heart here. Just as a farmer knows his crops – how and where to plant, how and when to harvest – God knows exactly how and where to plant His children and how to thresh us like crops. Like a wise farmer, the Lord will apply the right amount of pressure with the right kinds of tools in order to remove the chaff (the scaly, worthless parts) from our lives. While this might not sound like fun, it’s a process done by the loving hand of the Divine Thresher to expose what is good and useful inside of us!
You guys, I’m simply giddy that the Lord brought me to this passage in a moment when I wanted to give up on spiritual gardening for the afternoon. Yes, it is hard work but I’m not going to give up – and I hope you won’t either. We’re not destined to simply plow forever; there are different seasons for planting, growing, and harvesting. And what hope – what joy – what peace comes from knowing that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will give US (aspiring but ill-equipped farmers) the wisdom and understanding we need to do exactly what He’s called us to do in the seasons He’s called us to do it!
Do you have a testimony of God’s faithfulness to give you the wisdom and understanding needed to accomplish something He’d called you to do? I’d love to hear your story in the comments section below!
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Niki Schemanski is a wife of seventeen years and homeschooling mother of three children. A love of singing led her into an early career of performing and public speaking throughout Alaska and in various parts of the nation beginning at eight years old. After college, she spent more than a decade on staff as a worship pastor. Niki’s desire is to personally “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Her passion to help others do the same is what fuels her writing, worship leading, teaching, mentoring, and doula ministries. She and her family reside in Durango, Colorado.