It is hard to believe, but inside this itty bitty apple seed is a tree filled with apples.
Amazing to think about, isn’t it? One small seed. The power to produce a crop, to grow into a beautiful tree — producing endless amounts of delicious fruit — is in a tiny seed. It’s really quite mysterious and miraculous! All because God is at work.
Small things of God are able to become great things.
We live in a world that values BIG. Big actions. Major impacts. Giant works. It is easy to get caught up thinking only “big things” matter, and we end up thinking our efforts are small and seem insignificant.
Do you ever feel like your efforts, your actions, your kindness, your words, don’t really matter? That they aren’t massive enough, far reaching, or grand enough? I want to remind you that they do matter. They matter because God is at work even when we cannot see it. He is at work in us and through us.
We may never be famous or make headlines, but the seeds He plants in us and through us are our opportunity to live for Him. Don’t discount your contribution because it doesn’t seem like enough. Scatter those seeds. You are doing needful work. God can do extraordinary things through us.
Words of encouragement, an offered prayer, a word of hope, a small act of kindness. Seeds. They are all seeds.
Every small act plants one small seed.
Imagine what the world would miss out on if all those tiny seeds were thought to not be big enough? We never know how He will grow a seed. And in His time, they will grow. We may or may not even see them. But that is how it works . . . in His way and in His time. We can be at peace knowing we faithfully did our part and now His miraculous work is to come.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” {Galatians 6:9}
What a thought . . . our words, our efforts, our good works play out way beyond the moment. They can have far reaching effects that we will never know.
I want to encourage you today to be faithful in small things.
Keep planting those seeds.
Trust that He will use you for His purpose.
by Jennifer, StudioJRU
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Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Jennifer,
I love planting seeds, the part I struggle with, however, is that it is in God’s way and in God’s time that He will reap a harvest. Call me impatient….because I am. I want to see the fruits of my labor in fast-forward time, but God is teaching me to wait, be patient, to persevere, to have faith even when the harvest seems like it will never come. Thank you for this encouragement to not give up…to keep on planting!
Blessings,
Bev
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Oh I hear you, Bev! Patience is hard for me as well. But we continue to try, don’t we? Keep the faith!
Kathy Cheek @ In Quiet Places says
God really brought this lesson home to me this year. A lady
emailed me that her 99 year old grandmother had a little poem of mine from a
LifeWay magazine in 2008 cut out and taped to a piece of cardboard and that her
grandmother has cherished that poem since then and carries it around with her
all the time. As it turned out, the grandmother lives only twenty minutes from
me and I was able to meet her and the granddaughter who contacted me. I was so
moved by this that I contacted LifeWay and told them what had happened and they
chose to send us a writer to interview us and do a feature story for their
upcoming 40th anniversary issue of their Mature Living magazine. All
of this happened because of one little poem that blessed this sweet elderly
grandmother.
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Oh I love that, Kathy! What a precious story. Thank you so much for sharing and great job planting those seeds!
Missy Robinson says
It is a struggle of character to remain faithful in the small, hidden and unknown (by human eyes). I pray I will be found faithful, even when the fruit is not evident now or to many.
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Yes! Beautifully said, Missy. I pray that for us all!
Regina Gibson says
Thank you.
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
You are most welcome! Thank you, Regina!
Joanne Peterson says
Lisa, this reminds me of the scripture from Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices for the work to begin, to see the plumb in Zerrubbabel’s hand. (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.) NLT
It all matters, and God will take our small beginnings, the small seeds and by His Spirit make them grow to make the difference. These small seeds done faithfully will bring about the accomplishments God desires to see. His eyes are watching for our faithfulness.
Speaking more to myself, this is such an encouraging post. It does get tiring, sometimes physically doing what God is asking of me. Such good timing when I’m feeling the deep down tired.
Blessings,
Joanne
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Wonderfully said, Joanne! Thanks so much for sharing your encouraging thoughts! And happy this post was good timing for you!
Penny says
Thank-you Jennifer,
This is extremely encouraging.The acts of kindness I have received have stayed in my heart. Including unexpected ones this week. Even watching my son’s swimming lesson today and how kindly the instructor treated him left me smiling. Nothing one does for another is ever too small.
blessings to all,
Penny
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
It is amazing what a small kindness can do! Thanks so much for sharing that, Penny!
Cathy says
I love this. We have to keep scattering seeds. Each one carries such potential! I write a devotional blog called Seeds of Scripture because we need to plant seeds of His Word in our own hearts and minds too. Thank you.
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Yes! And what a great blog, Cathy! Thank you!
Cathy says
We’re all scattering seeds that HE will nourish. We may never know… Would you mind if I quote / reprint parts of your post on my blog. I would definitely give credits.
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Sure, Cathy! If you just link back to the original post and as long as you don’t alter or edit any
of the images. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Thank you so much, Pat! And you are most welcome!
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
That is wonderful, Jeri! You are so right, we call all do small things that mean something big to others!
Beth Williams says
Jennifer,
This is very true: “Small things of God are able to become great things.” I wish more people would believe that statement. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. You don’t have to do much just the simple act of visiting people in hospital, nursing home, send cards/letters, call people. We may never know the results of our actions, but God sees and will reward us later. For me planting seeds looks like spending time with my aging dad 3 days a week, cooking food for a missions, helping in-laws with medical issues.
Blessings 🙂
Jennifer {StudioJRU} says
Oh those are beautiful seeds you are planting, Beth! So important. You keep planting, friend!
Marty says
Beautiful post, and a great reminder that even small acts can yield big results for the kingdom of God.