We have been talking about seeds throughout the month of February. Sowing. Reaping. And learning to trust God in the waiting. And did you know that farming is a team effort?
Yep, according to Apostle Paul, we all need to work together to reap a good harvest:
“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. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-9
Paul had planted the seeds of the Good News of the Gospel, his friend, Apollos, had watered the seeds with encouragement, prayer, and powerful teaching, even so only God can make seeds, and hearts, grow, and bear fruit.
It was just about one year ago that we met together with our ministry partners in the Middle East. We focused on Your Story Matters curriculum, authored by Leslie Leyland Fields, is a spiritually formative ministry tool designed to help our ministry partners discover, write, and share their personal stories. But even before we started, God orchestrated a divine encounter that brought together a woman leader who had felt called to serve in an exceedingly difficult Arab nation and another woman leader who is from this very nation.
It was just about one year ago that we met together with our ministry partners in the Middle East. We focused on Your Story Matters curriculum, authored by Leslie Leyland Fields, is a spiritually formative ministry tool designed to help our ministry partners discover, write, and share their personal stories. But even before we started, God orchestrated a divine encounter that brought together a woman leader who had felt called to serve in an exceedingly difficult Arab nation and another woman leader who is from this very nation.
As they talked, you could feel the excitement filling the air as it spilled over on all of us in attendance. They began to enthusiastically explore the possibility of this tiny seed of hope, blossoming and bearing fruit, much fruit and fruit that will last for eternity (John 15).
I am thrilled to share that one year later, they are together again and their conversation has developed into more than just a dream or even a vision. Plans are unfolding! God is about to give the growth that will yield a bountiful and beautiful harvest of changes lives in one of the most difficult places in the MENA region of North Africa and the Middle East.
So, I leave you with these questions – what seeds are you planting today that could just reap a beautiful harvest this time next year? And who is helping you garden? Most of all, and best of all, are you looking to God, the only One who can and will “give the growth?”
