God Can Speed Things Up

LUKE 8:11 NLT 11 "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God's word.

MARK 4:26 NLT 26 Jesus also said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.

To help us understand how God's Word and His kingdom operate, Jesus used a seed. And normally, for a seed to grow and produce a harvest takes significant time.

However, it is also clear that God can speed up natural processes.

Here are three examples from Scripture: Aaron's rod that grew almonds overnight, a plant that grew overnight which shaded Jonah, and the boat immediately reaching the shore when Jesus got aboard.

NUMBERS 17:7-8 NKJ 7 And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

The book of Jonah tells of a plant that grew large enough overnight to be able to shade Jonah from the sun.

JONAH 4:5-11 NKJ 5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." 9 Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!" 10 But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left -- and much livestock?"

One time Jesus' disciples were in the middle of the lake rowing in a storm. As soon as Jesus entered the boat, they were immediately at land, which was about 4 miles away (a little over 6 kilometers).

JOHN 6:19-21 NKJ 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

God is gracious and merciful. So while understanding the seed idea is important, it need not severely limit us when God is involved.

For example: healing is a natural process God created so the human body will heal. However, we can pray for God's power to cause the process to speed up so that healing occurs faster than normal.

SAY THIS: God can speed up His harvest of blessing in my life.