Trusting the Slow Work of God
Mark 4:26–29 NASB
And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
As much as I love gardening, I’ve learned something about it:
Growth is slow.
You plant a seed.
You prepare the soil carefully.
You water it. You tend to it.
And then… you wait.
And if we’re honest, that’s where it gets hard. Because in the same way, we start to wonder:
Why does it feel like the seeds I’m sowing in people’s lives take forever?
Why does growth in my own life feel so slow… or even nonexistent?
Jesus understands this tension. A seed might sprout in a few days or even a few weeks, and that first sign of life fills you with hope. But then comes the longer process. The slow forming, the hidden work, the time it takes before anything that looks like fruit actually appears. And the same is true in us. We might see God begin something—a small change, a new desire, a glimpse of life—but then everything feels like it stalls.
We pray and not much seems to change. We try and it feels like we’re stuck. And somewhere in that waiting, frustration creeps in: God, where are You? Why isn’t anything happening?
A few years ago, we planted some citrus trees. They were small when we got them, and we gave them everything they needed—good soil, water, sunlight. And for years, nothing. No fruit, no clear sign that anything was happening. But this year, three years later, we saw it. Flowers started to bloom, and now there are small lemons and tangerines forming. They’re tiny, but they’re there, and for the first time we’re expecting a real harvest. It reminded me of something simple, but hard to live: the best things take time.
Patience is required. Faithfulness is required.
To keep watering…even when you don’t see anything.
But let’s be clear about something: We are not the ones who make things grow.
We can prepare the soil.
We can plant the seed.
We can water faithfully.
But we don’t produce the life. A plant doesn’t grow because the gardener tries harder. It grows because it receives what it cannot produce on its own—the light of the sun.
In the same way, real growth in our lives is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the One who brings life. He is the One who causes what is planted to actually grow.
This means we don’t have to force transformation or manufacture change. Our role is faithfulness; God’s role is growth. And that changes how we wait, because we’re no longer waiting on ourselves—we’re trusting in Him.
This is where many people give up. They tried church, they tried faith, they tried to change, and when nothing happened quickly, they walked away. But Jesus says in Matthew 17:20 that even faith the size of a mustard seed is enough. He’s not asking for massive, impressive faith, but small, steady faith—faith that keeps praying for that loved one, faith that keeps showing up, faith that keeps surrendering even when you don’t feel anything.
So don’t stop. Keep watering your life with the Word of God. Keep pursuing the way of Jesus. Keep trusting that something is happening, even if you can’t see it. Because the Kingdom of God grows like a seed—slowly, quietly, almost invisibly—but in time, there will be a harvest.
