Will It Flourish?

“Even though it is planted, will it flourish? Won’t it wither completely when the east wind strikes it?” -Ezekiel 19:10 (CSB) 

I’ve become a crazy plant lady.

I don’t have the shirt that identifies me as such, but it’s true. I’m not sure when it happened. Sometime around 2020, when life was upended and I hit my thirties. Yes, that’s probably when it happened–age thirty. 

Nonetheless, I love summer because summer means flowers. 

It’s to the point where I’m obsessing over it in my head, where to plant? Can I transplant that one there, and move this one over here? What can I plant next? Ooh, let’s try some seeds; where can I put those? 

My neighbors think I’m crazy when they see me with a shovel, I’m sure of it. 

But here’s what I’ve learned: Not everything I plant is going to flourish. 

Sometimes the soil isn’t right. (Here, in Michigan, my soil is like clay.) Sometimes there’s not enough sun. (The hickory trees around our house are killing me.) Sometimes there’s too much sun. Sometimes the weeds choke them out. Sometimes I don’t water them enough; other times, I drown them. Sometimes the deer or the bunnies come up and eat them. 

The roots may be there, but conditions aren’t right for it to take off and bloom. 

I may still be learning when it comes to plants–how to prune, where to plant, and so on–but what I know to be true is this: I want a deep-rooted faith that thrives even in the worst of conditions. 

I want a flourishing faith. 

That no matter the storms that try to blow me away, or the condition of my soil or heart, or the lack of water or scorching sun, nothing could keep me from blooming.

There’s a lot of plant talk in the Bible. From Jesus telling us that He is the true vine and we are the branches, and that apart from Him, we cannot bear fruit (John 15); to the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13); and Psalm 1 tells us [Blessed is the one who] “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” I could go on and on, but the point is our faith is like a plant. God has breathed life into it. The roots are there. 

But will it flourish? 

Maybe, for you right now, it’s a mustard seed-sized faith (Matt. 13)–but it’s going to move mountains. Maybe it’s a faith that feels fragile right now; it feels like it’s withering. Maybe it’s a storm that’s coming through; life is throwing you around, and it doesn’t feel like your faith is going to last. Maybe it’s a faith that needs some watering. The soil feels dry, and you’re feeling like you’re spiritually parched–well, Jesus is the Living Water.

Whatever season you may find yourself in–whatever the state of the roots of your faith may be in–stay connected to the vine. Abide in Him. Drink from the well of Living Water that He’s offering you. Hold on tight to the author and perfector of your faith as those winds blow you about. Care for that soil. Allow the pruning to sprout new growth from you. And bloom.

Will your faith flourish?

I believe it’s what He’s made you to do.