Faith. Trust. Hope.

I remember years ago being on a bus from Durban to Johannesburg. I seldom take buses but when I do, I usually take long trips as a chance to tuck into a good book or magazine and SLEEP. I usually ignore the in-house movies because they’re usually… well… JUNK! On this particular trip, my eyes kept being almost magnetically attracted to the TV screen. I tried sleeping, but I found myself having restless sleep, waking up every couple of minutes. Eventually I gave up on the idea of trying to sleep or read and found myself watching the movie. I was annoyed because now the movie was about ¾-way and I had no idea what the title was or where the story was going but still I decided to watch. By the time I really got into the movie, it was almost finished. But the one statement I got from it, which has stuck with me even now, years later is: Faith Like Potatoes. That was the title of the movie.

I had heard of books by the same name and heard the statement so many times but that statement hadn’t struck me before as it did then. In my head I tried to unwrap why on earth someone would liken faith to a vegetable, let alone a POTATO. But the analyst in me began to think of it literally and logically. Potatoes grow in the ground. A farmer can plant his potato seeds but unlike other crops like maize where he can check on his crop as it grows out of the earth, potatoes are underground until harvest time. The farmer doesn’t have a 100% guarantee that his potatoes will be of good quality. He has to have faith that as he waters and nourishes them, the potatoes he will eventually harvest will be healthy.

As a child of God, when you do all the acts of faith – pray, fast, tithe, give offering, and so on, these can be equated to the potato seeds. The soil can be the Kingdom of God.  So as you do all these things, you sow into the Kingdom. The ‘potatoes’ that will be reaped in the end are the fruits of your labours that you will harvest based on what you sowed. You don’t know what God will do with your seeds. But what you should know is that after a certain period you will reap. Sometimes it may seem as though you’re sowing and watering in vain because there’s no visible fruit, but when the season for harvesting comes, where you sowed you will reap!

Today, have faith that whatever you’re faced with God is working on getting you where you need to be. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, feels like or seems like but God IS working. The power is released when you believe! Just because you don’t see a way doesn’t mean He doesn’t have a way. If only we would have faith even as small as a mustard seed.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.”

Faith. Trust. Hope. COMPLETE surrender.