Pslam 85:11-13

Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway. -Psalm 85:11-13

This passage really struck me the other day. The truths expressed in it are stunning. One that jumped out in particular is where it says “our land will yield its increase.” It reminds me of a verse in
1 Corinthians 3:7-8, that says something to this effect: one person plants, another one waters, but it is God who gives the increase. God takes the responsibility for the increase and growth of what is planted.
We have a tiny seed. We place it into humble dirt. We add some water, one of the most basic elements of the earth. And out of this God brings extraordinary growth and multiplication. This is a total miracle of God every time it happens. The fact that anything could come from a seed, some dirt, and some water is truly amazing. How can so much come from so little?

God claims responsibility for the increase. There is little more we can do after planting our seed into good soil and adding water. God’s increase is guaranteed to be more and better than we are willing to believe. I believe it is His pleasure to give it to us, and not as hard as we make it out to be. No twisting of His arm is required. What is God’s limit? And what are we settling for? I don’t believe it is an issue of the availability of His goodness, but our hearts being opened to access what God has made available.

Reaping what we sow is often used in a negative context, mostly to say all the bad things we do are going to come back and get us. God sees this slightly differently. It is His delight to give to His children. Some right now are hearing that religious voice in their head warning that this can be taken too far, that this can be taken to excess, and to tone it down a bit, reminding us of all our religious obligations we need to observe to truly make God like us again. But I think that for the most part, instead of taking the goodness of God too far, we tend to believe Him for less, and sell ourselves short. We still find it easier to fear Him for punishment, instead of seeing His delight in giving good to His children. We find it hard to break free from the message that God is basically angry all the time, and barely tolerates us, finding whatever “good things” we do to be a laughable attempt to fulfill His righteous demands.

Jesus Christ had provided so much more than this to those who want to live their lives in Him. I am going into a deeper discovery of what this really means. The life of Christ in us enables us to live beyond our own efforts. We no longer have to struggle to obtain “blessed” status, or wonder why others appear to be more blessed than we are. We can enjoy the exclusive work of Christ. He was with God in the beginning of creation when He first laid down the principle that He would grant multiplication to our planting and watering. We have a part to play, but it is proportionately a lot smaller than we have been led to believe. And even then I think it is because God wants us to share in His joy and work in partnership with Him. Not because we have to “do something.”

I am no longer interested in trying to make God happy with me, but am instead living in, and enjoying His incredible kindness. This defeats the message: “Do more. Try harder. God isn’t quite pleased with you yet.” A whole religious institution and business has been built upon that message.

I am choosing to live in Christ. He will bring His increase.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace to His people and to His saints. -Psalm 85:8