Spring Barley

 

The spring barley planted in the field surrounding our house ripens, imperceptibly, day by day. Suddenly, we notice how golden it is, and we know that soon the farmer will be busy with his combine harvester bringing in the crop.

He planted the seed, but God has grown it. God has provided the sunshine and warmth to tease that seed into a sprout and into further growth; he has provided the rain to nourish and refresh it. And he has provided time, one day following another, for that crop to mature and ripen.

And so with us. We have opened the door of our heart to the loving reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, and invited him in. As we live in him, day by day, he teases that tiny seed of faith into growth. His love nourishes and his faithfulness refreshes us, during storms as well as sunny days. Imperceptibly, our faith matures and the Spirit transforms and renews our minds so that we love him more dearly, understand him more clearly, and trust him more fully with those things we don’t understand.

In my constant decluttering, I have been glancing through years of prayer journals. I always give thanks for God’s provision for us, but in re-reading some of the entries, some of the desperate cries over the years for financial worries, for relationship issues, for wisdom in raising a family, I have been struck by the number of times God has quietly reassured me that he would provide.

Now, in the autumn of our lives, I see how lavishly he has kept that promise. Whatever is lacking in my life, in your life, God is able and willing to provide. He always answers the cries of our hearts.

Even after all these years, I sometimes need to be reminded of the vastness of his love, the limitless expanse of his resources, and the creative and beautiful imagination with which he answers our prayers and blesses us.

What a Saviour.