Sow-What?! Sowing Seeds of Faith

Have you been sowing seeds of faith lately? Today more than ever young people are diagnosed with depression. There are lots of theories on this. But most center on the fact that kids are given so much without any effort or work. They expect life to be an endless well of riches that will never dry up for them. But Jesus never said this, he did say that life would be difficult at times but that we could go to him in prayer and he would comfort us(John 16:33). Part of maturing means that you have to learn to "go without" for a season and hopefully you will develop more of a reliance on God and not take for granted all the blessings you have.

So are we just supposed to suffer without or accept depression as a fact of life? NO! God wants us to live life to the fullest and have joy unspeakable each and every day.(John 16:24). Surely, God has provided us a way to fend off depression. Is there a way to defeat depression without medication?(Obviously we are speaking of depression that is mild and does not involve a chemical imbalance). Yes, there really is and it's called sowing seeds! You may be thinking sowing seeds;I'm really not into gardening. But we are talking about a different kind of seed. The word sow refers to the action(s) we take when we want to make a difference in our lives or the lives of others. Seed refers to the actual path we are taking, whether it is a financial gift or a gift of service. Sowing seed is also the biblical principle of planting a seed and believing God's word through faith that it will mature into a harvest in your life.

Are you confused? I hope not, but hopefully this will clarify things. You see something miraculous happens in our own lives when we reach out and begin sowing seed into someone else's life. God didn't design us to receive- receive- receive. When we get stuck in a rut receiving from others without giving back, we become robbed of happiness and joy in our own lives. If you don't believe me try it for yourself. Wait until you are having an exceptionally bad day and feel pretty lousy. Go and do something for someone you wouldn't normally do. (Make sure you are doing it without getting any paybacks). For example bake some cookies and deliver them to a nursing home or buy flowers and give it to someone who looks really down. Just don't do it expecting to receive a reward or payment from the recipient. God is kind of funny that way. When we do things out in the open and receive acknowledgement, rewards or payment then God will not personally reward us. However when we do something in private, not expecting to get any acknowledgement from the world, that's when God makes sure you are richly compensated. There is something about doing an anonymous act for someone in need that really gets God's attention. Not only that, but a rush of pleasure comes over you that is much better than some of the best gifts you've ever received.

But how does sowing seed work? Do you have to always do something for someone else or give them a tangible gift? No, there are so many other ways we can sow seeds. We can sow a seed of forgiveness. If you have had an argument with someone close to you and really feel you are not at fault you can apologize and ask what you can do to smooth things out. Regardless of whether you are to blame or not, taking the action of apologizing is a seed you are sowing that will result in a harvest in your own life. Maybe your family is in an unexpected financial crisis and they do not know how they will survive. Pray and find out how much God wants you to give and where you should give it(homeless shelters,charities,churches). Sowing financial seed is one of the most powerful ways to reap a financial blessing from God. Or maybe you or a family member is battling cancer. The best thing to do is go out and yep, you guessed it; sow some sympathy seeds. Visit hospitals, hospices and nursing homes and pray with those people for their own healing or just be with them in their time of need. Are you starting to get the idea here? You got to give away the very thing you need the most. Why on earth would God want us to do that? Well, it's all about faith. God wants us to think about others first and believe that when we are shepherding others, he will shepherd us. Now that is a gift of receiving that is pretty awesome, huh?

Galatians 6:7 Genesis 26:12 © Beth Rimstidt 2005 Permission is given for non-profit use of the information from this web page provided it is accompanied by the citation:

Used by permission of Beth Rimstidt www.child-bible-lessons.com

All requests for other uses will be considered. Please ask.