Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
Reading this verse from the back is a great way to get one of those “Steps to blessing” recipes that we love so much in our western logical minds.
The first thing we see here, starting at the back of the verse, is that there are people who are the target:
“for whom it is cultivated”
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
So the first question we have to ask ourselves, is simply: “Who is it that I am going to be ministering to / blessing / giving to / helping?”
The next thing when we move a step towards the beginning of the verse, is that we see it talks about:
“plants that are useful.”
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
Once I know who I want to deal with, I need to get to know them well enough to figure out what would be useful to them. What do they need, require, want or desire? It is therefore critical that we try to get to know the people we will be working with, as well as possible, so that a relationship of trust can develop. In that way, we can begin to know what will be useful to them. People don’t often reveal their needs to strangers.
We must also always spend time praying and waiting, for God will often reveal to us what would be useful to them.
The next step back is the word:
“grow”
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
Growing very seldom is “Jack and the Beanstalk” type growth, “and tomorrow it touches the sky.” Growth generally happens over a period of time, and it happens almost imperceptibly. Growth is best observed by focusing on doing the right things and occasionally observing the growth. If you watch it all the time, you get frustrated.
Picking a fruit too early means that it will simply go bad before ever being edible. Trying to sit under the shade of a three month old tree is more frustrating than helpful. Growth requires time and wisdom: Time to grow and wisdom to know when is the best time to pick the fruit and present it, or the best time to go across and say “Here is some shade for you from the sun.”
This is also why it is important to develop the gifts that God gives you, over time, because although at first, your fruit might seem small, and the growth process long, there soon comes a time when you suddenly find that the whole tree is covered with fruit, and shade is plentiful. Then you can see a need and meet it immediately – the fruit is ready – in fact so plentiful that you can’t keep up with giving it away.
You can see the home-cell as a nursery and research centre. This is where you can test the fruit. Pick it, serve it, and if it’s green, there will be no harm done other than a few faces pulling a bit sour. But we are family and will get over it, encouraging you to try again soon.
The next step back in this verse, is a powerful encouragement:
“the rain that often falls on it.”
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
The rain is God’s Spirit, God feeding us, God giving us all that is needed to grow. The encouraging part of this is that this verse clearly simply presents, as a fact, that this rain falls often. There is no dependency clause here. The rain does not fall often when God decides, or when we deserve, or based on any other condition that we need to meet. It simply falls often. Always. No end. No favouritism. It has been my experience that this rain falls whenever I spend time to come before God, and often even in between.
Then it talks about:
“drinks in.”
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
The rain must be taken in, digested, and worked out to the various parts of the plant, for growth to take place. We must take time to sit and drink. Reading the Word prayerfully, praying for the “for whom it is cultivated” and waiting on God for guidance, wisdom, insight and revelation, simply sitting in God’s presence, soaking in His anointing, attending church services and home cell, listening to teaching, reading Christian books -- all of these things are the sources of the rain, but we must “drink it in” if we are going to be making a difference. I have found that one’s mental and spiritual attitude is amazingly changed when you take a short passage of scripture, become still and quiet in a place where you are not disturbed, and simply start focusing all your thoughts on it, word for word, phrase for phrase, sentence for sentence. Soon you can literally feel your whole body becoming saturated with the truth of that scripture.
Then it talks about:
"soil. "
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
Well, that’s us. We are made from soil, and we will return to soil. Within ourselves we are nothing else. We don’t have the rain, we don’t even have the seed. All is given us by God’s grace. We are just the soil. We must just drink and begin to cultivate and grow those plants.
When all of that is in place, we get to the beginning of the verse, and we see that then, “God blesses.”
So get out there, figure out who you want to serve, get to know what would be useful for them, begin to grow those fruit by drinking in the rain that God gives you often, and enjoy God’s blessing!
Heb 6:7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.
Love
Ashton
