By: Katy Reed
This past year closed out differently than I ever could have imagined. Though, that feels true of life as a whole. When has my life ever gone according to the plans I have attempted to make? For December and January my heart and mind have been all tangled up with questions of truth amidst suffering after the unexpected death of my precious nephew. I was reacquainted with how messy and uncomfortable grief is. The questions that raced through my mind scared me because it was knotting up what I have long believed to be true about God with the brutal sting of living earth-side. I was in a hospital room when I found myself pondering how I could still stand firm on the truths I’ve believed the majority of my life even when the scary questions coiled messes in my heart. Those scary questions can turn hearts in two different ways. It’s a reality I’ve seen with tears in my eyes when deeply loved people turn from the salvation they once proclaimed with joy after a hardship. I think of what Jesus said when He explained the Parable of The Sower in Matthew 13.
“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matthew 13: 20-21)
The Word sounds good and can often be received joyfully until life hurts. However, this ultimately exposed that seed was superficially rooted in what God can give. This is where the tangly questions in our lives potentially leave us in a critical spiritual state. How will we choose to answer them when heartache battles truth? What will we do when they are just impossible to untangle with an explanation? I think what Jesus tells us about the good soil gives us a footing to take another step;
“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)
Dark seasons have become fruitful seasons when I’ve sought out understanding the truth of God’s word instead of believing every feeling that tails on my suffering. When I cling with weary fingers to what God’s word says about who He is, I find peace and gratitude in His attributes. His attributes never change even when my circumstances do. This makes the seed take root in soil that worshipfully aches for the Good News. It takes entitlement off the table when I think of what I deserve without the saving atonement of Christ Jesus.
There is always pain in this broken earth.
There is always great hope in a healed eternity reconciled with God through Jesus.
There are nearly a million things to be thankful for because of this.
As we start 2025, I know it will likely be filled with mountain-top beauty and crushing ruins for us all. So, with that in mind, I thought I would share some hopes that I have for bearing fruit in good soil even when storms and devastation come my way this year.
I hope for my life to be rooted in soil that has reverence for God as the Maker of heaven and earth. That amidst every suffering that makes me question, I would be led to God’s word to remember His unchanging attributes.
I hope for my life to be rooted in soil that wholly trusts in the sovereignty of God. The Sovereign Maker that made us, cares for us and works in every detail for our good and growth. I want to have open hands in surrender ready to be molded by His loving sanctification. The joy of that sanctification is becoming more like Jesus.
I hope to live rooted in the soil of gratitude each day. When I look for His blessings, I see them everywhere. I call it treasure hunting because when I am actively looking with thankfulness for God’s kindness, blessings, and grace it is impossible not to see the bounty He gives me moment by moment.
I hope to live my life invested in the roots of others. I am a mom to five young children and live in the center of a Christian camp. I see impressionable hearts and minds around me at all times. I never completely know the condition of their heart soil but I know that ordinary discipleship is powerful. We can set an example to search for answers when scary questions pop up. We can share the fruit that seasons of suffering produced so that it is not surprising to others when they find themselves in a similar place. We can be testimonies of God’s faithfulness morning by morning, moment by moment.
When the knotted up questions in our hearts and minds feel impossible to untangle we must cling to the hope gifted through our salvation in Christ Jesus. Life can feel like a disaster and yet our eyes can still be fixed on the unshakeable hope of heaven where we know and understand that one day every tear will be wiped.
“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.“ (Hebrews 12:28-29)
May our hope be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ through every drought and storm.
May we be vulnerable to share our suffering and hope with others so that their rocky soil can be discipled by our good soil that is rooted in Truth.
Katy Reed is a happy camper living at Hume SoCal with her husband Tyler and five children. Discipleship and care for young staff are her passion and she spends her days trying to intentionally practice the gift of moment-by-moment gratitude.
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