Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Growing Toward the Son: Lessons from Sunflowers

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It’s official: I have the summer doldrums. The South Louisiana heat has taken its toll on me. The dictionary defines doldrums as a period of stagnation or slump. They have even affected my writing. I’m in a slump. I haven’t wanted to move or DO anything; I want to sit in the comfort of a cool, air-conditioned home.

Until that morning…

It was early. It was a Monday morning. Not being a morning person, I rarely notice anything. Unless it’s hundreds of happy faces smiling brightly at me. They were sunflowers! Planted in a sugarcane field!

Their faces brought me so much joy. How had I missed them on the way to church yesterday? Why were they planted in the sugarcane fields?

There are several reasons cane farmers are planting sunflowers in the off-season:

  • Those beautiful sunflowers shade the soil and help suppress weeds.

  • The sunflowers have their own subsoil community (nematodes [worms, ugh!], bacteria, fungi, etc.) which flourishes in the thin layer of soil around the roots. This is a different subsoil community than the sugar cane roots. And this enriches the soil for cane growth.

  • After harvesting the sunflowers, their stems can be left in the field. The sunflower stems mulch and enrich the soil, further supporting the cane growth.

  • Young sunflower buds follow the sun, but once the flower head opens, it faces east permanently.

  • They are beautiful and make people happy!

     There’s more to sunflowers than the agricultural facts, though. Here are three lessons I learned:

1. Follow the Son. So much is vying for our attention these days. So many people to “follow” on social media. But the only One we need to follow is Jesus. Sparkly things catch our eyes, distract us, and pull us away from Him. Follow Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him. “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2. Pray through the storms. I missed the sunflowers when I passed them earlier because it was cloudy and raining. The young sunflower blooms were facing down. Their heads were “bowed.” When stormy weather comes and circumstances overwhelm us, pray. Bow your head and heart and talk to Jesus. He will calm the storm. “He (Jesus) got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.” Luke 8:24 NIV

3. Grow among the weeds. The field contained some weeds alongside the sunflowers. But the weeds didn’t stop the sunflowers from growing! The beautiful flowers continued to grow. We will face “weeds” in our lives that can choke our growth in the Lord. But the Son brings us nourishment. And God is our Gardener—He will remove any weeds that cause us to struggle in our walk with Him. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” John 15:1 CSB

The sunflowers were beautiful and brought me great joy. But they also taught me some valuable lessons! And they encouraged me to grow sunflowers! Now I have a small square of smiling faces in my own front yard.

-What brings you joy and delight?

-When have you slowed down to notice something lately?

Grace be with you,

Awestruck by God’s Glory

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Have you ever seen a sunset so breathtaking that words could not describe it? The colors are so vibrant that mere words can’t do it justice. Who has words when your heart and soul are filled with wonder, and you are awestruck? In several nuggets of scripture, the writers show us the awe and wonder of God. We can see that they were overwhelmed by His presence and His glory.

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1 CSB

Isaiah never describes seeing God’s face. He describes how the hem of God’s robe fills the temple.

Could it be that Isaiah was so filled with awe and reverence that he bowed and could only see the hem of God’s robe? And if the hem fills the temple, how much more the rest of God’s glory?

 And they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Exodus 24:10 NASB

We see in Exodus that Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s eldest sons, and the seventy elders went up the mountain to ratify the covenant before God. They couldn’t describe God’s face. They only saw the pavement beneath His feet.

 Could it be that they were prostrated before Him in awestruck wonder? Apparently, the sight was so grand that their eyes saw only below His feet. 

Awestruck

And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Revelation 4:3 NASB

In Revelation, John was before the throne of God. He never describes what God looks like, but John has a detailed description of the throne around God. John had no words for the glory shining around him. Awestruck!

Scripture tells us that no one can see God and live. Got Questions⁠1 describes it this way:

“When God told Moses, ‘You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live’ (Exodus 33:20), He was saying that truly seeing God as He is, in the fullness of His glory, is more than mortal man can tolerate (cf. Isaiah 6:5, emphasis mine).”

God’s glory is more than we can handle in this life. Oh, but in the life to come, we will see Him! 

They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4

All those who have received Christ by faith are brought into the new heaven and new earth to be with Jesus for all eternity (Revelation 21:1–6). It is there that believers will get to look on His face. It will be more than we could ask or imagine. We will be speechless and awestruck!

For His glory,

 

 

 

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1 https://www.gotquestions.org/God-Moses-face-to-face.html