To get anywhere, you must begin somewhere.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it
to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1.6 NIV.
My thoughts and comments today are about, “the promise in a seed.”
For the year to be happy and satisfying, more needs to change than just the calendar. Wherever you are in your journey, any time is a right time to choose more carefully and live more wisely. The beginning of this year is a perfect occasion to commit to clearer goals, better choices, and successful efforts.
The Bible reminds us, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10 NLT. Even more, God delights to see efforts rewarded.Too many of us have too many unfinished intentions. The early hours and days of a new year are good for careful reflection and renewed resolve. Where does your spiritual journey need a fresh beginning and focused efforts? Every achievement begins with your vision of possibilities and purposeful decision to accomplish those.
Every seed holds the promise of new beginnings. The largest of trees began as a small sapling, grown from an even smaller seed that released its God-given potential. Yet-unknown possibilities await release and realization from the smallest beginnings. A dear, life-long friend often reminded me, “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.”
And God knows your possibilities because He placed that potential in your DNA. However small that seed may seem, recognize that every seed is the place from which God begins. In our Father’s Kingdom, every beginning holds a promise. To describe the Kingdom of God, Jesus chose the example of a tiny mustard seed.
Jesus explained, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in His field.32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32 NIV. You cannot see the possibilities and power within the seed you sow, but God does. You must learn that to begin does not require anything more than you presently have.
Jesus used His story about a small seed to encourage His followers to realize the power of possibilities. Jesus taught that accomplishment is not about how little or much with which you start; it is how much of your potential you will ultimately realize. With God, your potential is beyond what you may assume. Why do you wait? Today is a great place to start and what you have is enough, when you trust all you have into His hands.
Jesus told the story of a servant who was given a small portion of his master’s wealth to invest and increase. Read Matthew 25:14-29 NIV. Doing nothing is a sure path to failure. He simply buried the money for safekeeping. Incorrectly, he reasoned, he would not lose anything. He failed to realize that neither could he gain anything, and then would lose everything.
The outcome is not only the result of the potential in the seed. God put that there. The result of your small beginning also depends on your view of the importance of what you have and your willingness to begin where you are. To get anywhere you must start somewhere. The longest journey begins with a first step.Where you are and what you have is the right place to begin.
You must plant a seed for its power to be released. The Bible says, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24 NIV. Paul encouraged the Christians at Ephesus, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20 NIV.God provides the seed to sow and promises the harvest that results.
There are a lot of great things to be accomplished in your life that are waiting for nothing more than your clear decision to begin, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”Philippians 1:6 NIV.
Today, I pray for you to reap an ample harvest from every seed you sow.
Christian Communications 2018
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