According to my friend google:
Buried is defined as being placed or hidden underground, covered up or repressed.
Planted is defined as being placed in the ground so it can grow, place or fix in a specified position.
In this season of patient endurance, I found myself feeling like I’m being buried, placed under the many burdens and expectations of life while having piles of unexpected problems and circumstances thrown into the mix, to make for one heavy load.
Being buried often feels overwhelming and isolating as you are faced with many trials and difficulties. It can be hard to see the light of day when you are covered with anxiety, frustration and sorrow. You may even feel depressed to a certain degree as it gets harder and harder to navigate your day to day life.
One of the things that I’ve discovered is that being buried and being planted often feel the same. The difference is really a matter of perspective and intentionality.
Planting a seed requires an intentional placing in the ground. The seed needs to be placed deep enough in the ground where it can grow roots and not be picked off by birds or rodents or scorched by the sun. The seeds must also be in a good enough proximity between one another that they don’t get choked up by each other as they grow up (See Matthew 13:3-8 for insights).
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
– Matthew 13:3-8 (NIV)
What if I told you that you are not being buried but rather, you are being planted?
What if I told you that in this season of Patient Endurance, you are being intentionally placed in what may seem like a dark place but really it is a place that is meant for you to grow deep roots?
What if I told you that the crap that is all around you is the exact ingredients you need to grow into who God has called you to be?
What if I told you that God had to get you alone long enough for you to hear His voice and not be distracted by others?
I’m reminded of the scripture in Matthew 4:1 that says “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus was intentionally led by the Spirit into a place of testing. He was placed in a wilderness – dark, hungry and alone – so that His spirit might increase and his flesh might decrease. He was being planted so that he might say with His whole being (mind, spirit, body, emotions) that “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt.4:4).”
Father, I pray that as we patiently endure the season we are in, let us look to you for strength, courage and hope. May we continue to pray for your nourishment and seek your face. Holy Spirit empower us and increase in us, so that we may grow into the people you are calling us to be. Jesus we need you! In Jesus’ name, we pray and find strength, Amen!