Worry, Faith and Seed

Worry, Faith and Seeds

If faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, can it make those same seeds germinate (grow)?

This is a question that has plagued many a Year 13 student at Middleton Grange over the past few weeks. The task was simple: grow radish seeds in different salt solutions and see which ones grow faster. At the time it seemed more like your year 5 science project than a Year 13 assessment. I could not have been more wrong. Dying seeds, spilt salt solutions and irregular growth were only three of the disasters that happened to our class in the space of two weeks. No growth, no results, no chance of getting anything above an achieved. The stress began.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Despite the lack of natural resources in our world, worry still manages to come by the bucketful. If there is a rare moment of peace in your life, it is not long before stress manages to rear its ugly head. In fact, when I do feel relaxed, the stress of others makes me wonder why I am so calm… so I start looking for reasons to worry.  Whether it’s your school, work, friends or family (or in my case radish seeds), we always have something reserved to be worried about. “I’m okay, just stressed,” is the new norm.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

But as Christians we are set apart. We are called to be different and show the confidence that we have in our Father. We trust God to save us from our sins, to deliver us from the evil one, to love us despite our constant mistakes… yet believe helping our work situation is beyond his jurisdiction. Sure I can believe Christ died on the cross to save my sins, but that he can speak into *insert problem here*… not so much. How come we trust God in the extraordinary but not the everyday?

 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39)

Can you think of any problems in your life that are more powerful than death? Life? Angels or demons? Anything in creation? No? Then God can handle it. This does not mean that everything will go well all the time, but rather that nothing will ruin God’s plan for us.

My seeds may not grow perfectly. But I am convinced that if life nor death, neither angels nor demons can stop God’s love and plans for me, then a couple of radish seeds won’t stand a chance. This is the assurance I have in Christ.