Recently, I had a student ask me for some band-aids. As it turns out, he had fallen and scraped up his hands and arms. Some of the scratches were barely visible, but he still wanted a band-aid for it. And not just one band-aid, but three! About 5 minutes later, all the band-aids fell off. That was okay, he felt better and they had done their job. :)
Obviously, we cannot use a band-aid to take care of every kind of injury. A band-aid will do no good for a broken arm or a dislocated finger or a sprained ankle. Each injury will need to be treated differently. You cannot simply use a band-aid for everything. In the same way, when we come alongside others in life, we need to be careful not to use a band-aid for every ailment. We need to be in prayer asking the Father for wisdom. How can I love this person the best?
Isaiah 28:23-29
23Listen to me; listen, and pay close attention. 24Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting? 25Does he not finally plant his seeds—black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—each in its proper way, and each in its proper place? 26The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. 27A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin; rather, it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin; instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail. 28Grain for bread is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn’t pulverize it. 29The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation
Special Tender Care
The farmer knew when to plow and when to stop plowing. He uses specific tools when planting and harvesting. He is careful and precise with which tools he uses so he will not destroy the crop. Isaiah tells us the farmer will plant seeds differently, according to what they need (some sown and others scattered). It says wheat would be planted in rows and barley has its appointed place. Each is treated differently with what they need to grow and be fruitful. So too, God works with each of us differently. Just as the farmer would use different tools at different times to produce fruitful crops, so too does God. He knows exactly what tools to use in our lives and when to use them. God created each one of us very different and unique…so too will He treat us differently. God knows precisely how and where to place us that we might grow and flourish. He knows when to move us. He supplies exactly what we need in each moment of life. We can trust God knows what He is doing in our lives because He is the expert farmer, “wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.”
Master Gardener
Vs 27…”The black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin…” (NKJV)
Farmers knew which tool to use for each type of seed. They also knew the physical limits of each seed so as not to over thresh, break or crush to the point the harvest is damaged or useless. Likewise, God knows which methods to use with each of us to refine us and purify us from that which corrupts. It can feel like God might be doing more than we can handle at times, yet we can take encouragement that God won’t over thresh us (1Cor.10:13; 2Cor.4:8-9). He uses the exact care needed to perfect us more and more into His image, that we might have the mind and heart of Jesus. He desires that we would bear fruit, some 30-fold, some 60 and some 100-fold. (Mk4:20) Not everyone bears the same kind of fruit or the same amount. There is no need to judge others or try to be like others. Rather, be with God. He is the Master Gardener!
Just as the farmer trusts the wisdom God has given him, we too can trust that our Heavenly Father knows what He is doing in our lives. We can rest in the assurance that His work is with purpose and care.
As God deals with each of us uniquely, so should we learn to treat others with that same grace. Every person is in a different season, needing a different kind of care. Some may need encouragement, others correction; some may need time to rest, others a nudge to move forward. May we be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading as we walk with others, extending the same patient, loving touch that the Father so graciously gives to us.
Further Reading:
Psalm 139:1-6
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