Faith is a seed that will root on the coldest day and flower on the darkest night.

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Isaiah 40:4-8

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Would you rather fight a battle with a seed or a sword?

It probably won’t take you very long to come up with an answer on that one.

A sword, of course.

But, is that always the best weapon?

Consider this…

My wife and I own a small tract of land that offers us opportunities for camping, hunting, fishing, and various other outdoor activities. In fact, it’s so perfect for us that we named it “The Land of Plenty at Glory Lake”.

While it is breathtakingly beautiful, the terrain is very hilly which results in slopes that are very steep. Some of these slopes go directly into Glory Lake which makes maintenance tasks like mowing and weed control much more difficult than they already are – which is hard enough!

But that’s not the biggest problem we face on these slopes.

That honor goes to erosion.

In the dictionary, erosion is defined as “the gradual destruction or diminution of something“.

Just in case you missed it, the key words in that definition are “gradual destruction” – which means that if left unchecked, the erosion will eventually destroy the beauty of the place.

So how can that happen?

In the case of Glory Lake, the gradual destruction of the property comes from rainwater and it’s appetite for stealing valuable topsoil from the slopes and depositing it into our lake – which is an undesirable outcome.

If you think about it, it’s ironic that the very thing that gives life to the property is the very thing that can destroy it.

So, how do we wage war against something harmful that’s both necessary and beneficial at the same time?

I use what God designed.

Seeds.

I plant seeds to grow vegetation whose roots will prevent the soil from eroding into our lake. In other words, a seed is essentially our sword against the gradual destruction of our property.

God’s word is like that.

In today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse, we find the prophet Isaiah telling the people of Israel that the word of God is to be trusted. After so many failures, God’s people are being reassured that it was His word that never changed. He brought them through it all.

We face the same situation today.

In spite of the gradual destruction of our lives, both from our own doing and that of others, God’s promise never wavers.

In John 14:2-3, Jesus said, “² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.“

The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray to use the seed of life – the word of God, to combat the evil forces that relentlessly peel away the topsoil of our lives. Pray for the opportunity to sow the seed of life on the ground of those that don’t know him. Give thanksgiving to God for His “grand design” that provides the seeds for planting and the fruits of harvest.

And if you’re hankerin’ to do some fishin’, come on out to Glory Lake. But, if it looks like rain, you might wanna bring along a surfboard because those slopes can get pretty slick!

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Isaiah 40:4-8

⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. ⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. ⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”