“but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”
Matthew 13:8 KJV
The farmer went out to sow. He expected good results. He lost the yield on the seed that fell by the road side, the stony ground and the field of thorns.
Now of the ones that fell on the good soil, some of the seed yielded a 100 fold, some yielded 60 and some others 30 fold returns.
What happened to the ones with 60 and 30 fold? Remember they all fell on the good soil, so the differental is not about the soil now.
We have to also ask the seed about its journey from landing on the soil to harvest time. There are stages of development to go through, there are things going on underneath the ground unseen to the naked eyes looking above the ground. The crops faces its own battles against natural elements and external opposition.
We must remain trusting God throughout all the phases. We must trust God with the processes that we have no control over.
The enemy that snatched the seed from the wayside and brought the obstacles against seed on stony ground as well as the thorns to choke the plant is still around to fight the yield on the good soil.
Those who have gardens know that the winds of life blow against the crops even after they have sprouted and borne fruits. Between the time the fruits show up and they get to ripening, a lot of things still happen that limits the eventual outcome.
Notice there was no record of the sower ever once blaming the good soil for the different levels of results.
Same seed on the same good soil but not all of them produced equal results.
The farmer did not blame the soil in this outcome. He understands that life happens. Winds blow, the sway of life happens, animals pluck out of the budding fruits, birds pick at some of them and the yield on some crops ends up not being 100 percent.
I had a dream where I had the task of carrying eggs across a difficult terrain, a difficult course. Some dogs were chasing at some point and I had to climb over obstacles. The path was difficult. At the end of the journey some of the eggs had fallen off and got broken. I felt bad I lost some eggs along the way, but the person I saw at the end of race did not complain about the broken eggs, he only showed me other tasks and how we can even make more yield in other ways for the farm.
I believe God understands the why of the different yields, he wants us to continue working. I think we should be a little easy on ourselves when some of our endeavours don’t go exactly as expected. Let’s be grateful we had a yield. As long as the soil is still his, the farmer knows to come back again next year to plant some more.
As long as you remain the good soil, keep receiving the seed, the farmer will keep coming back every season. I am learning to expect some difficulties along the way. Nothing ever goes exactly as envisaged or planned. In all cases I trust God to fulfill His purpose in spite of the adverse situations.
Shalom
Olaolu Oyeyemi