God’s orchestrating ability never ceases to amaze me. One Sunday morning in August before Covid, I was greeting at church with a man I only knew as Bob. I knew Bob was a farmer, so I said, “Bob, I guess you are getting your combines in the shop preparing them for harvest…replacing the beater bars & belts?” Bob smiled and said, “Robert combines don’t have beater bars & belts anymore, it thrashes with forced air. Farming has changed!” But has it?

When God set up His farm, the “Garden of Eden,” He created 5 basic & essential relationships. Since then, nothing has changed, neither has He.

The Sun: Provides energy that heats the soil to germinate the seed & the light energy results in photosynthesis that changes minerals into food for the plant. Without sunlight green plants cannot make food. Genesis 1:1- 3 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

The Air: Provides a key function in photosynthesis. Air converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen to make food. Air also provides a way to pollinate. Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God…breathed into his (Adam) nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

The Water: Carries the nutrients from the soil throughout the plant. Genesis 2:5-6 “When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground…”

The Soil: Provides the (1) nutrients (food for the plant); (2) composition (sandy loam, clay) provides the structure to support the plant & roots; and (3) pH is the condition that unlocks the nutrients to feed the plant. Genesis 1:9 “And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth.”

The Seed: The Star of the show. The seed will only become a plant when the right amount of Sun + Air + Water + Soil are combined. Until then the seed will remain a seed. It is a divine relationship. Genesis 1:11 “And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.”

Over the years I have been Blessed by how God has used my dear friend Bob to recall so many precious farm memories. I recognize that Sunday morning, which was just another Sunday morning, was God’s way of putting two old farm boys together to farm. This farm uses His Words to be the Good Seed of Hope through Today’s Good News. Remember, “Nothing-Just-Happens” for the words in Isaiah 55:9 remains true today, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my (God) ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

The equipment & techniques have changed in farming over the years, but the essentials have not. This Principle of The Farm applies to all of life, then and now. His “Ways” are relationships…at the core is our relationship with Him. The good crop begins with, “Be still & know that I Am God.” Psalm 46:10. Spend time with Him. Enjoy His creation and remember. Nothing-Just-Happens. God is in Control.