Eugene Peterson writes, “The person… who looks for quick results in the seed planting of well-doing will be disappointed. If I want potatoes for dinner tomorrow, it will do me little good to go out and plant potatoes in my garden tonight. There are long stretches of darkness and invisibility and silence that separate planting and reaping. During the stretches of waiting there is a cultivating and weeding and nurturing and planting still other seeds” (From Traveling Light).
As I reflect on this thought today, I am reminded how easy it is to always take the short view and to forget the long view. We are such a fast food and microwave society that we want things and we want them now. However, God is not bound by our definitions of success or timing and we should be thankful for that.
Where are you right now? Are you content in the place that God has you? Are you seeking to grow where He has planted you or are you dreaming about getting to the place where you can really thrive? Do you believe that God is going to finish the work that He started and that right now and that He is using the circumstances of your life to accomplish His goals? In reality, if we believe Romans 8:28-29 and have a proper theology of place, we must believe that God has planted us exactly where we need to be. The only place we can be is wherever we are right here and right now. We can daily miss opportunities to love those in front of us, experience God’s grace, and lose precious moments to truly live. I know because I’ve spent countless days in some nebulous future that will never exist. I must be where God has planted me and live in the now for that is where I am.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
Remember that we can’t just flip a switch and appear in the land of contentment. We must own our lack of contentment and take it to the Father. We must pray and ask that He would teach us and draw us to believe what is true. We need to surround ourselves with believers who can speak truth in our lives, and ultimately, we must trust ruthlessly in the goodness of our Abba Father. He is always faithful. He is always good. He always knows best and He is doing a work that is beyond our understanding.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Chad,
It’s funny that you mention this after our meeting today- after I told you about some of the issues in college, finding myself on this new Way and trying to figure it all out. One of the phrases that really did a number on me was just that, “bloom where you’re planted.” It was almost haunting me (and I mean that in a good way). Hm. Thanks brother, I definitely need to meditate on this again.
Bryan Lilly
Sometimes the trouble is in getting yourself planted somewhere, knowing that once you do, you’ll have ample opportunity to bloom.
Great thread, and blog, Chad.