It's a Soaking Season
For the first time in a long while, I'd had time to sit on my back porch and enjoy the morning. I had been diligently working on my yard and vegetable garden, so I hadn't really had time to just sit and enjoy until then. It was nice.
In our area, we hadn't had rain for weeks; everything was so dry and dusty. However, we recently had rain one day and then again the next night. Boy, you could tell the difference in the grass and the flowers, but mostly in my vegetable garden.
Of course, I water my garden, and it has been growing nicely. However, when it rains, it is quite different. The plants love the rain so much more than the water hose. When I walked outside this morning, my plants had exploded. I just smiled, knowing it was the rain.
I decided to spend my time with God outside on my porch swing. I started my worship music, grabbed my Bible and sat down. Within moments I could hear a sound I hadn't heard in a while; it's a sound I love.
About a half a mile from me are lots of trees. Between the trees and me is an open field. As I heard the sound, I looked toward those trees. I could hear the rain coming, even though it was still half a mile away. I love that sound, the sound of rain coming. You hear it before you see it, and for some odd reason, it thrills me every time. It always reminds me of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, when he said, "I hear the sound of an abundance of rain" (see verse 41).
I also love the Scripture in Hosea 6:3: "Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth" (NKJV).
Even before the day that I heard the rain, God had begun to talk to me about rain. Each morning as I would water my plants, He would remind me of how much they loved the rain and would grow exponentially when the rain finally came.
As I was sitting there, listening to the rain, I received an email from a friend with a message on it that caught my attention. The title said, "This is a soaking season." Hmm. (Photo via Unsplash)
I don't know if you were ever involved in what was called "soaking meetings" back several years ago, but I was. They were life changing for me. We would simply gather at a local church with worship music playing, and we would lie quietly in the presence of the Lord for hours. "Soaking," they called it. To me, it was simply taking time to rest in the manifest presence of God. It was awesome. I loved that season. That's where my mind went when I read those words, "This is a soaking season." To me, that meant it is time to set aside quiet time to sit in the presence of God and allow the rain of His Spirit to fall on us.
I see how my plants respond to the rain, and I believe we respond to the rain of the Spirit in much the same manner. When God pours out His Spirit on us, we grow spiritually, we rise higher, we develop fruit, and we cultivate peace that passes all understanding.
Whenever we take time to spend in the presence of God, we will see growth. Whenever we take time to read our Bible, pray the Scriptures, worship God, or simply sit and talk to Him, we will experience growth—at times exploding growth, just like my plants.
Not Plants—Harvest
Above, I referred to the things growing in my garden as plants, which they are; however, they are not just plants, they are also vegetables. They hold within them my entire harvest. Think about that for a moment. My little bell pepper plants have dozens of firm, ripe, and tasty bell peppers within them. Just one of my green bean plants will produce a basket of green beans. My watermelon plant will produce several juicy watermelons.
God has been showing me that it is the same thing with the seeds we sow, whether financial seeds or seeds of the Word of God over our situations. You see, I can look at my bell pepper plants and see just green plants. However, if I look closely enough, I can see teeny-tiny bell peppers flowering and about to grow into what they were meant to be. Each singular plant will produce several bell peppers.
I can look at my green bean plants and see a little bitty start of green beans. Of course, I can't eat them yet, but I can see they are becoming all they were meant to be. They are becoming what they were sown to be, what they were planted to be.
Did you know the same thing happens when we sow a seed? Imagine you sow a seed for a new car. When that seed is planted, it will begin to produce what it was sent to produce, according to the Word of God. As we keep weeds of doubt away from our seed and water it with the Word of God, that seed will become what it was sown for.
The same thing happens with the Word of God. When we sow words of healing, words of peace, or words of restoration, those seeds go into the ground, spiritually speaking, and begin to produce what they were sent to produce. Not only will they produce what they were sent to produce, but they will multiply! (Photo via Unsplash)
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
What is interesting to me is that this Scripture is also talking about rain, just like we talked about before. Let me share The Message translation:
"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work... For as the sky soars high above earth, the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of My mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them." (Isaiah 55:11 MSG)
Isn't that awesome? Those seeds we sow—words and other seeds—if they align with God's Word, will produce all they were sent to produce.
One day soon, I will walk outside and pick bell peppers, green beans, lettuce, zucchini, watermelon, and cantaloupe and eat of my harvest. That will be a good day! However, this day, when my seed is still growing and producing, is still a good day, because I have a promise: I will see my harvest.
My seed will produce what it was planted for. So, I keep watering, I continue to keep weeds out, and I look forward to my harvest. The Bible says what I sow and only what I sow, I will reap. I will reap, no doubt about it.
It is my prayer for you today that God will come to you like rain, that His Spirit will begin to rain in every part of your life, causing growth, harvest, and a manifestation of His fruit in your life. Your part? Take time with Him. Press into His presence. Spend time sitting at His feet.
I hear the sound of rain; step out into it, and let His Spirit drench you today.
Friend, I don't know what seed you have in the ground, but I want you to know this: it will produce what it was sent to produce. As surely as the rain comes down from Heaven, your seed is growing and producing what you sent it for. Get ready for your harvest; it is surely coming. We have God's word on it.
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Kim Potter
A New Thing Ministries
Email:Â Kim@anewthingministries.com
Website:Â www.anewthingministries.com
Kim Potter is the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to over 10,000 people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, Charisma, Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim's message is one of hope. She speaks to the heart of those who have grown discouraged and disappointed by the circumstances of life and imparts the desire and ability to stand against all odds, to stand for victory. She encourages people to press into God and discover that He is who He says He is.
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