While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)
We have often heard this Scripture described as seed – time – and then harvest. But what really happens after a seed is sown? The Bible says seedtime and then harvest, but what is taking place between those two? Does a seed produce an immediate harvest once it is planted in the ground?
I have planted vegetable gardens and I can answer that question from experience. No, a seed does not produce an immediate harvest, at least not from my experience. However, nothing is impossible with God.
In the natural world, once the seed goes into the ground, there is always a period of waiting. So, what happens during the waiting? What comes after the seeds are sown?
Colossians 2:7, in the New Living Translation says: Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Once the seed is planted, a root system must be developed. When the seed of healing is planted in you, healing doesn’t always immediately manifest. Yes, the seed has been planted, but healing most often comes when a root system of healing is developed in you. You will nourish that seed and nourish that seed until one day, healing springs forth.
It’s the same with prosperity. When the seed is planted in you for sowing and reaping, you begin to sow seeds, but harvest doesn’t often come as quickly as you would like. Most often, God begins to build a root system in you concerning giving according to the Word of God and as you continue to trust God in this area, harvest will begin to come, just as it does in the natural when we sow seeds into a garden.
Recently, I studied root systems and how to produce a strong root system, one like Colossians 2 speaks of, a deep-rooted system. I found a few things are needed.
First, we must keep out weeds and bugs that would want to destroy the seed before it can produce the root. Song of Solomon 2:15 tells us it is the little foxes that spoil the vine. Bugs and weeds are often little things. So, it is in the spirit. It is often the little things that stop our roots from growing deep into God. We often allow little things to get us off course, hence, we are allowing weeds to suffocate our seeds.
Little things would be things like gossip. Little things like bitterness. Little things like refusing to forgive. These things will stop your roots from growing deep into God.
Next, to have strong roots, we often need fertilizer. Fertilizer is defined as a substance added to help growth.
Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Substance is defined in the Strong’s Concordance as: the steadfastness of mind, firmness, courage, resolution, confidence, firm trust, assurance. It is also defined as foundation. Faith is and must be our foundation, faith in God and in His Word.
Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Just the other day, I was thinking about what we sow into us. You see, there are several things we can sow into us according to the Word of God: life or death, blessing or curse; light or darkness.
Each day we sow something into our life, either something that produces life or something that doesn’t produce life. If we spend four to eight hours a day playing on our phone or tablet, are we sowing life? No! Then we cannot expect life to flow out of us. If we spend half our day watching television that is not in line with God and His Word, we are not sowing life.
We must spend time with God, in His presence and in His Word, if we want life to flow out of us. The ONLY thing that is going to flow out of us is what we put in us. Therefore, daily sow life producing things into your own life. Faith is our substance, or our fertilizer, in our life. To build our faith we must spend time with God and in His Word, listening to Spirit-filled messages, reading our Bible, or reading life-producing articles by anointed men and women of God.
It is often the little things that stop our roots from growing deep into God.
Finally, to have a strong root system, we need watering…deep watering. While searching for tips for strong roots, I came across the following statement.
When watering your plants, water deeply. Light watering tends to encourage roots to concentrate closer to the soil surface where sudden drying is may become a problem. Deep watering, on the other hand, fosters deeper and stronger root systems. I just love that! If you want deep roots, water deeply!
John 4:13-14 says, Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 7:37-39 says, On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Ephesians 5:26 says, That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word.
Jesus talks about water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. He also talks about the water of the Word and the truth that it sanctifies and cleanses us. If we are then to water our seed deeply, we must do it with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
To develop deep roots, we must then go deep in God’s Word and deep in spending time with the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit.
Let your roots grow deep into Him. He is showing us just how to do that, how to have a deep root system. After the seed comes the development of the root. Then the harvest. Make sure your roots grow deep into Him today, in doing so, you will see the most awesome harvests of your life.
Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
