“Never underestimate the power of one, tiny broken seed.  Placed in the right hands, it will surely grow into an expression of His beauty for all to see.”  

-Mary Southerland

John 12:24 (NIV)  “ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

It is never fun enduring a trial.  The pain or sorrow that accompanies the struggle can be devastating and loathsome.  Depression will often try to smother  a weary soul, like a slow mist on a dark night. 

Difficult times are sent by God to teach us perseverance and trust, unless we have brought them on by our own sinful choices.  In that case, reaping the consequences of our sin can still be turned into useful lessons and wisdom.

There are hidden sins deep inside each of us, which will only rise to the surface when we are pressed and tested.  Exposed, these sins will either humble us into confessing them to God, or anger us. 

In the later case, we will attempt to burry these sins once again in the depths of our very being.  Thankfully, God loves us enough not to let them remain hidden for long.  New trials will come to bring these same sins to the surface.  Until humility finds us, and our confessions are laid at the feet of Christ, the refining process will continue and address the same issues. 

One cannot climb a mountain until specific basic skills have been mastered.  Sin after sin, spiritual lesson after lesson, we eventually recognize the wisdom of God’s love at work in our lives.  With this new maturity in Christ, we willingly allow ourselves to be broken by God’s merciful hands.

It is therefore this laying down of self-will that finally propels a believer into a place of real usefulness for the Lord.  It is in dying that we find life.  It is in serving that we obtain joy and contentment.  It is with a selfless life that we find peace and rest for our souls.

If WE are that single mustard seed of faith (or kernel of wheat), broken and lying on the ground, we have the blessed opportunity to multiply for His Kingdom’s sake.  Yes, in dying we are watered by the Hands of God and a new harvest arises out of our single act of dying to self. 

As broken seeds, sown and transformed into plants with fruit, the Master Gardener must decide which plants He should harvest and which ones should go to seed.  For you see, the plant whose fruit is harvested is enjoyed at the banquet table of God.  However, the plants permitted the honor of going to seed will become either a spice offering to God, or sown once again for an even bigger harvest the next spring.

Either way, a broken and single seed will produce much for the kingdom of God.  Your trial is an opportunity to give yourself over to God.  It is in dying that you will find eternal life, it is worth the breaking.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NIV)    “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)    “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Psalm 126:6 (ESV)   “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”