The Garden of Blessings: From Seed to Feast
Part 1: Finding God's Purpose in Life's Broken Soil
Have you ever planted something with hope, only to watch it struggle? Perhaps you've tended a garden where the weather didn't cooperate, or pests arrived uninvited. Maybe it wasn't a literal garden at all, but the garden of your life—relationships that withered, dreams that didn't take root, plans that were washed away by unexpected storms.
Life has a way of reminding us how little control we actually have. We plant our hopes, water our dreams, tend our relationships—only to find that things don't always grow as expected. And in those moments, we find ourselves looking up, asking, "God, are You even there? What's the purpose in all this waiting and pain?"
If your heart has ever uttered these questions, Genesis was written for you.
God desires to speak into our broken world through this magnificent book. It's like He's pulling back the curtain saying, "Let me show you what I've been doing all along—through the droughts and floods, through the famines and failures. I haven't forgotten my purpose. I've been growing something magnificent: blessing."
The word "blessing" appears over 80 times in Genesis, forming the heartbeat of the book. But God's definition of blessing differs dramatically from our own. While we often equate blessing with prosperity, comfort, and ease, God defines it as His favor flowing through us to others—His goodness taking root in us to produce fruit that feeds a hungry and lost world.
Throughout Genesis, we witness God's gardening pattern unfold:
This pattern—planting, rooting, pruning, harvesting—isn't just ancient history. It's God's ongoing work in your life and mine.
Where do you find yourself today?
Are you standing in broken soil, wondering if anything good can grow there? Are you in a season of waiting, where roots are developing beneath the surface but nothing is visible yet? Perhaps you're feeling the sharp cut of God's pruning shears, removing what hinders your growth. Or maybe you're experiencing the painful breaking of harvest, where your life is being multiplied to feed others.
Wherever you are, remember the promise of Isaiah 61:3: "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." God hasn't abandoned His garden—or you. The Master Gardener is still working, often beneath the surface where you can't see it yet, to grow something more beautiful than you can imagine: blessing that begins in you but doesn't end with you.
Prayer
Master Gardener, when I look at the broken soil of my life, help me to see beyond what is to what could be. When I'm tempted to believe nothing good can grow here, remind me that You specialize in bringing life from emptiness and beauty from ashes. Give me faith to trust that even my breaking can multiply blessing to others. Help me recognize which stage of growth I'm in, and give me patience to cooperate with Your perfect timing. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Check back in the next few days as we explore how we were "Planted to Be a Blessing" in the story of creation and humanity's beginning.
Have you ever planted something with hope, only to watch it struggle? Perhaps you've tended a garden where the weather didn't cooperate, or pests arrived uninvited. Maybe it wasn't a literal garden at all, but the garden of your life—relationships that withered, dreams that didn't take root, plans that were washed away by unexpected storms.
Life has a way of reminding us how little control we actually have. We plant our hopes, water our dreams, tend our relationships—only to find that things don't always grow as expected. And in those moments, we find ourselves looking up, asking, "God, are You even there? What's the purpose in all this waiting and pain?"
If your heart has ever uttered these questions, Genesis was written for you.
God desires to speak into our broken world through this magnificent book. It's like He's pulling back the curtain saying, "Let me show you what I've been doing all along—through the droughts and floods, through the famines and failures. I haven't forgotten my purpose. I've been growing something magnificent: blessing."
The word "blessing" appears over 80 times in Genesis, forming the heartbeat of the book. But God's definition of blessing differs dramatically from our own. While we often equate blessing with prosperity, comfort, and ease, God defines it as His favor flowing through us to others—His goodness taking root in us to produce fruit that feeds a hungry and lost world.
Throughout Genesis, we witness God's gardening pattern unfold:
- First, we were PLANTED to be a blessing in creation—designed to produce good fruit and multiply, though sin corrupted the soil.
- Then, Abraham was ROOTED to grow in blessing—his faith becoming the foundation for God's covenant, though the waiting tested everything he believed.
- Next, Jacob was PRUNED to bear blessing—his manipulative branches cut back so true fruit could emerge through surrender rather than scheming.
- Finally, Joseph was HARVESTED to multiply blessing—his painful brokenness becoming seed for nations, proving that what sin shatters, God scatters for good.
This pattern—planting, rooting, pruning, harvesting—isn't just ancient history. It's God's ongoing work in your life and mine.
Where do you find yourself today?
Are you standing in broken soil, wondering if anything good can grow there? Are you in a season of waiting, where roots are developing beneath the surface but nothing is visible yet? Perhaps you're feeling the sharp cut of God's pruning shears, removing what hinders your growth. Or maybe you're experiencing the painful breaking of harvest, where your life is being multiplied to feed others.
Wherever you are, remember the promise of Isaiah 61:3: "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." God hasn't abandoned His garden—or you. The Master Gardener is still working, often beneath the surface where you can't see it yet, to grow something more beautiful than you can imagine: blessing that begins in you but doesn't end with you.
Prayer
Master Gardener, when I look at the broken soil of my life, help me to see beyond what is to what could be. When I'm tempted to believe nothing good can grow here, remind me that You specialize in bringing life from emptiness and beauty from ashes. Give me faith to trust that even my breaking can multiply blessing to others. Help me recognize which stage of growth I'm in, and give me patience to cooperate with Your perfect timing. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Check back in the next few days as we explore how we were "Planted to Be a Blessing" in the story of creation and humanity's beginning.