Instant: Cucumbers & Faith

 

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”  1 Peter  1:7

So, my garden is beginning to produce. Cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, okra and peppers of all kinds. Oh, and there’s a grape vine loaded down with perfectly placed tiny, green spheres. I can hardly wait! 

We planted everything from tiny plants instead of seeds so we’ve been able to watch the growth continually. Side note: you do that whenever you don’t want to “wait around” for the seeds to die and then make their grand entrance; because aren’t we all about instant gratification? Microwave culture. Have it now. Ok, off my soapbox. I’m guilty at times too, you see.

Anyhow, the tiny plants started out barely two or three inches above the garden soil and grew a little bit each day. 

So, I waited. 

Then one day little, yellow blooms appeared. Boy, was this girl more than a little excited!

Unfortunately, my plants didn’t instantly produce mature, eight inch long cucumbers nor three inch round tomatoes. If only! They began as  quite miniature versions instead, and I had to wait some more as they grew a little bit more every day. However, the little, undeniable signs I saw helped me remain confident that one day I’d be eating and sharing the ripe, luscious goodies...if I kept waiting. 

There’s NO “instant” in growth...it’s a process. 

 

One day, I asked my husband what he thought would increase our faith more - for God to answer prayers instantly (like giving me a mature cucumber over night) or for Him to just do it little by little, kind of growing it like a plant. He looked lopsided at me for a second and smiled. He knows that’s just the way God wired my brain to work. Always thinking.  So we discussed it for a few minutes. 

In my opinion, I think what we learn during the process of waiting out the growing periods produces stronger faith and makes our roots grow deeper daily. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate instant answers or growth; but maybe while instant answers to our prayers would be nice on one hand, they might produce some pretty shallow roots too. God grows stuff deep!

Have you ever sat back and kind of put all the pieces of the answered prayers puzzle together? The little signs here and there - tiny blooms, then miniature versions - prove to us that He’s putting all the pieces together just right - working it all together for our good - this encourages us to hope and to exercise our faith. And, what is exercised always grows and gets stronger. 

With every phase of our journey, God sends small glimpses to us that prove He is working on our behalf and is in control. We just have to be looking for the signs. 

God didn’t give me a mature cucumber, He gave me a bud. He didn’t perform the big miracle I’ve been praying for, He just provided a little glimpse of hope for what is to come.  This, my friend, will keep me praying and growing my faith until it finally happens. It will work for you too! Keep watching. 

The trials and trying of our faith along the way build a beautiful, mature version of ourselves. In the process, we are encouraged to hope and exercise our faith in the Lord until we see the answer unfold. Instant cucumbers aren’t a thing! We aren’t instant versions either, it takes the waiting, trying and fire to produce spiritual maturity. 

Watch and wait as the Lord does His thing, working all things together for our good, making all things beautiful in HIS time, for our good and His glory. Our mature faith is a reflection of God’s growth within us. By the way, that’s better than any cucumber or tomato too. 

Who needs instant anyhow?!