Bearing Good Fruit Through Perserverance

But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart and bear fruit through perseverance. Luke 8: 15 (Parable of the Sower).

In the parable of the sower, Jesus explains to the disciples the heavenly meaning of each of the seeds. The seeds that fall on the path, those that fall on rocky ground, those that grow but are choked by thorns, and those that bear good fruit. I want to focus on the last seed, the one that Jesus says, “bears fruit through perseverance.”

The definition of perseverance is the continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. Jesus doesn’t say those who hear the word and embrace it will bear fruit easily. He says they will bear fruit through perseverance. This is such truth! Faith only grows or increases when we persevere through difficulties in life, especially when those difficulties are beyond our control, and we turn to God for help. This requires us to rely on God to sustain us when we are in crisis either emotional and/or physical.

I am reminded of a quote from C.S. Lewis in his book, The Problem of Pain. He said, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

When I look back on my life and examine the times when my faith grew the most, it was mostly when I was facing an emotional or physical crisis. Such as the time my husband lost his job when I was six months pregnant, and we were suddenly left without medical insurance. The time when I miscarried my babies. The time I had two herniated discs in my neck and was in pain for five years before having surgery, to name a few.

Each difficulty I faced challenged me to choose whether I would try to rely on my own strength to endure or rely on God for strength. Anxiety and fear welled up taking root in my heart as I faced each new crisis. My first gut reaction was hurt or pain whether physical or emotional and then anger. Anger for me was always the pivotal turning point. Do I turn away from God or turn toward God? Will I let this be a stumbling block to God or a stepping stone toward God?

Early in my faith journey, I found it so easy to give into the situation and wallow in pity, depression, or anxiety. I let worry overcome me, analyzing endless “what if” scenarios until finally I would either crumble and give into depression or turn to God for help. It was in my surrender to God that I allowed Him to be in control. He gave me the grace and strength to go on when I turned to Him and surrendered. He is and was always faithfully giving me the grace I needed!

With every difficult situation I encountered, this pattern returned. Yet my faith grew, and the time began to shorten before I turned to God in surrender. I would pray more and pray much sooner. I began to read scripture especially verses about healing and persevering. I would let the scripture become the words of my prayers. I would listen to Christian music and hear God speak to me through the lyrics. I would lean on the shoulders of friends and family. God became present to me in those moments. I would feel a peace that flooded my soul, and I would feel His immense love and compassion. And then, only then, I knew I could go on.

For me, this led to my understanding that God doesn’t necessarily send us illnesses or painful situations, but He does allow them to happen. He uses these as an opportunity for us to draw close to Him or for those who don’t know God, a conversion of heart. In the past, I may have thought that God was harsh or maybe even cruel but that was not true. It was when I turned to God that I understood, sometimes, experiencing pain in our lives facilitates us turning to God’s redemptive love and that can save our souls. If this is the case, then I believe, that would be why God allows us to experience pain. It is in turning to God that we become the seeds that bear fruit through perseverance. When we bear our painful situations with humility and give God glory in our difficulties, we become a witness for others and point them to Christ.

Let us always remember that God shouts to us with His megaphone in times of pain because He so desperately wants us to let Him love us. Let us remember to embrace God when we face difficulties, so we bear good fruit. And let us turn our difficulties and pain into a path of stepping stones toward God.

© 2023 Kendall Berry Lasseigne