“Seeds of greatness” never expire. Unlike natural seeds that do expire, the seeds of greatness within you never will. I got saved at fifteen into a church that was a little obsessed with end-time teaching. For the most part, it was fine, but I was young and naïve, so for some (ridiculous) reason I decided to buy and store some seeds, just in case the world went rogue and there was no food to survive. Lord knows what I was thinking — as if I could plant a veggie garden in the middle of the apocalypse. I kept them in my underwear drawer (which is even more hilarious). I think there was also some random speculation that the planets were aligning (hello), and some overseas preacher had prophesied that something catastrophic was happening in the early eighties. Needless to say, we’re nearly four decades on and still here.
The hilarious thing is that I stowed my seeds away in the late seventies. One day my boyfriend/fiancé (Brian Charles Houston) discovered my seeds. Not that he was fossicking in my undies drawer. Perish that thought. But the ridiculous thing is that my seeds had expired. Of course they had – everything of this world has an expiry date. Recalling this nonsense, I asked my assistant to Google how long seeds last. She replied, “Well, Pastor Bobbie, some packets last two years and others longer… corn, onion, leek, chives, and parsnips last two years… cabbage, chicory, endive, cucumbers, squash, and tomato last six to eight years.” Hilarious. I have no memory of what veggies I thought would sustain me until the second coming.
I don’t know if that story made you laugh, cry, or go check the date on your seeds! In all truthfulness, we don’t need to fear this world or how the events of the future will play out. We have every reason to be wise, observant of the times, and always maturing in our ability to listen to God’s direction, but the tenor of Scripture teaches us that our heavenly Father is well able to watch over His own in troublesome times. There is plenty of promise and stories to that end in the Bible. One such story is found in 1 Kings 17, where a series of miraculous provisions watched over the prophet Elijah, including ravens bringing him food at one point. If God can do it for Elijah, He can certainly do it for you and me – just don’t shoot the raven with the bag of groceries out of the air! Lightheartedness aside, I have been heard to say that the safest place to be in this world is bang smack in the middle of God’s will for your life.
However, what we need to be mindful of is the untapped and uncultivated potential within the soil of our own heart. You are a vineyard, garden, and beautiful field waiting to happen. Allow God to plant and nurture you to fruitfulness. Allow Him to tend the potential within to full expression, and forever stay within the soil of His purpose. None of us graduate from stirring up the gift or calling within, and there is not a day or stretching new opportunity where I do not remind myself to do that.
Never underestimate the labor of your life. A woman who spoke over my life at a campsite meeting all those years ago acknowledged a willingness to plow up hard ground and pave a way. At the time, I had a limited insight of what that might mean in the years ahead. All I knew to do, alongside my husband, was be faithful with what was in our hands. God entrusted a congregation and a nation — and for the past thirty years we have simply sought to give our best and finest to both. I want to encourage you to do likewise. Be faithful in and with the soil of your life and planting.
Watch Hillsong’s Bobbie Houston this Monday on LIFE TODAY. This is an excerpt from Stay the Path by Bobbie Houston. Copyright ©2017 by Bobbie Houston. Published by FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group. Used by permission.
