Sowing a Seed of Faith

Sowing a Seed of Faith

For my birthday this month my husband found the Bible I had been wanting on Ebay for a fourth of the price, so I started my Bible studies back in Matthew and have been going forward.  

One of the things I like to pray before I do my Bible reading in the morning is that the Holy Spirit will help my see the scriptures in Truth so that I will never misinterpret them, and if I have any false theologies that they would be corrected.  Because I have either had the Bible read to me or have been reading it on my own for 53 years, I also pray that I will be able see the Bible in a new light and that some things I have never thought about before would stand out to me. God had absolutely been answering my prayers.  I may not see something new every day, but more often that I had anticipated.  

One of the examples in which I found myself saying, "I never thought of it like that before" was from Mark 4:30-32.

(Mark 4:30-32) And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

I think we can all relate to having a mustard seed sized faith at some time in our walk with the Lord, and it can be a relief to know that God is patient with us in this way.  In my times of doubt, these verses have been a comfort.  However, it is funny that I never let the words that twice say, "when it is sown" sink in.  

We can't just let this tiny little seed stay small; we need to sow it in faith.  You have probably heard many preachers tell you that when you give him money, this is sowing a seed of faith.  I am positive that is not what Jesus meant when He told this parable!  Please know that this has nothing to do with lining the corrupt prosperity preachers' pockets.  We sow seeds of faith by trusting that God's Word is real and believing God will answer our prayers according to His perfect will.  I speak from experience when I say that the more you read the Bible and praise the Lord, the more your faith will grow.

Yes, it often takes walking by faith and not by sight to truly trust in the perfect sovereignty of God. Yet the more we trust and obey Him, even when things are not going the way we think they should, the more we grow that faith.  I know this is not always so easy, so just use that little mustard seed and little by little, you will realize it is growing bigger and bigger.  You will soon realize that you are trusting more and more in God's love and His perfect plans for your life.

Additionally, as your tree of faith grows, you can then start encouraging others in their walk with the Lord and they will be the birds (mentioned above) that you can bring comfort and spiritual shelter to.

The more you sow and water that tiny seed, the next thing you know, your faith will be so huge, it can move mountains!

(Mark 11:22-23) And Jesus answering saith unto them, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea'; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Another portion of scripture that speaks of sowing seeds is in Mark 4:1-20. You can read my entire writing on the Parable of the Sower here  https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2025/01/mark-41-20-parable-of-sower.html  but for today I am just going to focus on the good seed.  Here is an excerpt from that writing (Jesus' Parable of the Sower can be found in Mark 41:1-20):

Now, let’s go to the end of this parable and see that one who allows the seeds of God’s Word to become firmly planted will produce fruit in various levels.  These seeds are sown in good ground.  This means one who is open and receptive to the things of the Lord. One who is humble enough to admit wrong-doing and work at fleeing from a sinful lifestyle. One who is willing to be taught and eagerly sits at the feet of Jesus waiting to learn something new every day.  One who is not going to let the cares of a fallen world take away their love for their Heavenly Father.  No is perfect, of course, we all make mistakes and do wrong things.  We all have fear and doubt.  But the answer lies in clinging to the seeds planted in your heart.  And clinging even more so to the Author of the Words.  Let Jesus be your comfort, your corrector, and your hope.  When you allow God to take control of your life, it will be much easier to produce good fruit.  

(Galatians 5:22-26 ) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 

People tend to leave out the part that says we must live in the Spirit and crucify our flesh.  Even these verses in Galatians (as well as in the above verses) show that grace is free, but sins are not automatically forgiven unless we repent (1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. notice the first 5 words.).  We must put aside the unfruitful traits and pursue the fruits of the spirit.  Only then will the seeds in our hearts flourish and grow beautiful fruits.  Fruits that can feed and nurture others.