Devotions for Disciples

By Sonya Hayes

I like watching things grow, but I have a reputation for watching things die. If a plant, tree, or bush lives in my home, we count it a miracle. I actually have one of these miracles sitting in my kitchen window.  It was about six years ago when my granddaughters Lucy and Lily gave me a green plant in an elephant container. I made a big fuss over the gift and wondered how they were going to feel on their next visit when they saw that the elephant container sat empty. Fortunately, the plant has not only survived, but also it has thrived. I think that the success of this plant may have been because I have given it very little of my attention and an occasional spray of water. Happily, the plant is still alive and has grown some this past year, and reminds me daily that the Father always gives us just the right amount of care. But this plant got me thinking of another seed, a tree, and a cross.

I wonder about the seed that grew the tree for the cross.  I wonder if the seed blew across the land the day sin so brutally entered the world. Was it planted deep in the soil after the flood and lay in the earth’s dark depths until time to break through the ground? Did the tree begin to show its green growth on the day Mary received the news that she would give birth to the Savior of the world? Or maybe the green leaves pushed their way out on the night Christ was born. I have no way of knowing when the tree was planted or what that growth period was, but I do know that the Father gave life to a seed that would grow the cross that would hold the body of the Savior of the world. I know the tree was protected from storms and axes down through the years. I know that the tree was created for pain and for life. It was created to become a cross on which the blood of an innocent man would be shed.  

We are much like the seed and the tree. We have been sheltered and covered from many storms — and the storms have come. They have sometimes broken off branches and bent us to the ground, but we have stood protected for a greater purpose. In Psalms 1:3, we are told that the righteous are like trees planted along the river bank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (NLT) 

God knew when he created you from a seed in your mother’s womb that life would bring fierce storms and pain — great joy and happiness. God also knows that He has planted you in His strength, beside His living waters. You are created for abundant life and a great purpose. We are covered by grace upon grace with every storm we encounter. Yes, the tree had to die. It had to be carried up a hill on a rocky path. And it had to be used for a sacrifice far greater than we can imagine. If the tree had not died, everlasting life would not have come.  Jesus knew the tree would grow for Him. He knew the evil intentions of Satan’s plan would be planted and take root in the hearts of men, yet He never asked the Father to destroy the tree. We must ask for the same strength Jesus asked for and was granted when He prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done.” When the storms come, and they will, when the joy comes in the morning, and it will, know you are planted in the heart of a loving Father. His will is for a greater purpose than we can see.