February 28, 2011 Devotional

It's Always about the Seed

Several attempts were made to send seedlings of the coffee bean from a French botanical specimen to the West Indies... all attempts failed. Finally, in May of 1723, a French marine officer named De Clieux set sail with the seedlings... Little did he know that he would have to put his life on the line for the precious plant. A passenger, possibly a Dutch spy, tore a branch from the seedling in an attempt to destroy it. In a battle with Tunisian pirates, the glass top of the chest was smashed. Even worse, a storm hit the ship, immersing the seedling in salt water. Then, as water supplies dwindled, De Clieux, had to share his small ration of drinking water or watch the coffee plant die. Eventually De Clieux reached Martinique, where he planted the coffee seedling. From this one "noble tree," millions of trees would come. It is the ancestor of all the coffee planted later in the Caribbean and Central America. - Coffee: Rob Alcraft
 
Whenever I read this story, I get a dose of reality I badly need. On an average day, I may face the Dutch spy and the battle (not just one, but two or three... and there are days I'd choose a battle with a pirate over counseling a hormonal woman!) But though storms come in all shapes and sizes, I must keep my eye on the bigger picture. Life's never about the difficulties but the seed!
 
Psalm 126:6 says, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his (harvest) with him." So as we pastor people, what do we need to remember?

1.   Recognize the seed.

What's something God has given you that you could release and sow?

2.   Release your faith for seed increase.

Most people live negatively. The greater challenge is the art of living in the possibility of, "What if God..."

3.   Don't get sidetracked.

"Take the very hardest thing in your life-the place of difficulty, outword or inward, and expect God to triumph gloriously in that very spot. There He can bring your soul into blossom." - Lilias Trotter, Parables of the Cross
 
Here's the challenge: Keep disciplined. See the bigger picture. It's never about the Dutch spy, the pirates, the storms or the hardships... it's always about the seed. Don't focus on storms. It takes discipline to stay on task and see the seed planted and positioned to reproduce.

Jeanette Harrell

Victory Christian Fellowship
Somerset, KY
http://www.vcfsomerset.com