Called to Travail

The Process of Growth in a Seed: Germination

In nature every seed has a seed coat, a hard covering around it. Inside the seed coat there is an immature plant, an embryo, with leaves and a root. It has all the parts of an adult plant, but it must first go through the process of germination in order to grow to its full potential as a plant. In the same way, when we are born again, the seed of Christ is planted deep into our hearts. This seed must then go through what I call spiritual germination, for only then will the seed begin to sprout and His life
be fully formed in our souls.
Dormancy may occur after God’s holy seeds are planted in our hearts as we experience a time of
waiting on the Lord. The seeds that have been planted into the soil of our hearts are lying dormant as they wait for the proper environment of specific spiritual conditions to break them open so that His life within us can sprout and grow to maturity.
There are certain environmental factors that affect the germination process in nature, including water, oxygen, temperature, and sometimes even light or darkness. It is the same with spiritual germination; God knows exactly what we need in our lives in order to bring the growth that is necessary. Just as water is required for the germination of seeds, so is the water of the Word one of the most important factors for our spiritual growth. We are washed and cleansed in His Word and are built up in our faith. Without the power of the Living Word breathed into our souls by the Holy Spirit, there will be no growth, no true spiritual life flowing through us. We desperately need His presence and Word daily filling our hearts and lives in order to grow and be made into vessels of honor.
Oxygen is the main source of a seedling’s energy until it grows leaves; similarly, the breath and light of the Spirit is of paramount importance in our lives. Without the Spirit’s life, light, and energy, we will never grow into the full stature of Christ. In nature, a seed can be oxygen-starved due to several different factors, one of them being an impermeable seed coat that prevents the oxygen from entering it. In our souls, this outer shell on the seeds that have been planted within our hearts must be removed so that the light and breath of the Spirit can enter in. If the Spirit’s life does not penetrate these seeds they will forever lie undeveloped within our souls, and the result will be barrenness. Without the proper nourishment through the Spirit’s presence, the results will be stunted growth, or even worse, spiritual death.
There is an element that the seed cannot do without in the germinating process: proper temperature. Seeds, in the natural, have a temperature range in which they will germinate, and they will not do so above or below this range. Temperature also affects the rate of growth of a natural seed, and even more importantly, within our hearts it affects the rate of growth in our spiritual lives.
There are many spiritual temperatures that the Lord will use in order for His seeds to germinate within our hearts. Many think that it is only in warmth and comfort that these seeds of purpose will sprout, but God uses many different seasons in our lives to break open these holy seeds. There are some seeds of purpose in our hearts that will not germinate unless God takes us through a cold, dead season of dryness. It is only then that the full work of the cross in our souls will bring the fullness of His life in us. The “north winds,” or cold winds of the Spirit, will often cause the seed coat covering in our hearts to begin to crack. Many times in my life the coldness of rejection and the harsh words of others have brought me to my knees in deep brokenness. It was here that the seeds of purpose began to break open and flourish in my heart.
Not only do some seeds only germinate in the cold, but other seed coats will only break open in hot temperatures. Did you know that some seeds require a forest fire in order to crack their seed coats? The fires of affliction will cause the hardness in our hearts and the seed coverings to crack. Our God is a consuming fire, and as we embrace our fiery trials and allow this fire to penetrate our hearts and burn away the seed coats, we will find our hearts purified, and a new zeal and purpose will begin to fill them. (See Hebrews 12:29.) Let us never despise the discipline of our God, for it is for our eternal good that these fires consume our sin and break open our hearts. God’s fire will bring healing and wholeness into the deepest places in our souls.
There is one last spiritual element that must be applied to our seed coat in order for it to be completely removed, and that element is faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (See Hebrews 11:6.) As we activate our faith in the midst of our trials, we find that unbelief and doubt will begin to leave, and the seed coat over our hearts will begin to melt away. Unless we, by an act of our will, apply this element of faith, the seeds of life that have been planted in us will never grow––and may even die.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and then it is activated by receiving, believing, and applying it to our lives. (See Romans 10:17.) This is the most important element that must be applied in order for the life of the Son of God to come forth fully in our souls. Faith without works is dead, and unless we build up our faith in the power of the Spirit, the purpose and vision for our lives will never be realized. (See James 2:20, Jude 20.)
Everything that we receive from the Lord comes through faith; we are never to be governed by what we see or feel. Without the development of our “spiritual eyes” of faith, we will never envision the harvest that He has planned for us. We must begin to see in the Spirit, to see past our present circumstances. Everything we hope and dream for is seen and received only through faith. If we doubt that the seeds that have been planted will come to fruition, how will we ever receive the final outcome of this spiritual harvest in our lives?
Even when a farmer plants his field, there has to be an element of faith that he will be able to gather in his crop. We live by faith, and we receive nothing from the Lord apart from faith. (See Galatians 3:11, James 1:6-8.) The seeds of truth that have been planted into our hearts will only yield returns if they are mixed with faith. (See Hebrews 4:2.) Faith is a vital element, and we must fight the good fight of faith even when it looks as if our seed has died and that our harvest will never come forth. (See 1 Timothy 6:12.) We must stand on His promises and be nourished by the words of faith that God speaks to us, and then by faith we will see these seeds germinate, and we’ll rejoice in the harvest. Faith works as a strong spiritual chemical that, when applied to our seed coat, will not only begin to eat away the hard outer covering, but will completely remove it.
The children of Israel never experienced the full promises of God or came into their inheritance because of their lack of faith. Unbelief robbed them of all their spiritual riches, and they never realized their harvest of righteousness because their “seed coats” were never removed in their trials. You see, we can suffer fiery trials and affliction, and yet never have the outer covering of God’s seeds in our hearts removed because of fear and unbelief. Unless faith is embraced in our hard circumstances and we submit to God and obey His Word, the trials in our lives will have no effect on us; we will remain hard and unmoved. Faith must activate its spiritual power upon our souls; only then will God’s holy seeds within us germinate.