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Jun 06, 2025 06:00am

Planting Faith: Trusting God with the Harvest

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How much faith is required when you plant a fruit tree?

It’s always been our dream to have a small orchard. Nothing too big, just enough to enjoy our own fruit. But if you want to know the truth, it took years before it came to fruition.

There’s a process to growing fruit. First, you have to prepare the soil. Then, the seed must be planted. Next, you water the seed. Soon, a sprout begins to grow and grow and grow. A tree takes shape and is ready to be planted in the ground. You dig the hole, prepare the soil once again, loosen the root system, plant the tree, and water it.

And water it. And water it.

Did you know it can take three to seven years before a fruit tree produces any fruit? You believe it’s going to happen; otherwise, you wouldn’t have planted it in the first place. There’s a great deal of faith required when planting fruit trees.

We lived and worked in Jonesboro. We had just built a new home, beginning our life together. Our son went to school there, we were active in our church home, and this is where friends and family were. So, we made the investment and planted the trees.

But we never saw them bear fruit.

The Lord had other plans for us. It didn’t mean that we shouldn’t have planted them; it just meant that we wouldn’t be there to enjoy the fruit. Someone else would. We weren’t bitter. We didn’t think it had been a waste of time. We simply moved on about life, and when we got to our new place, we began planning where our next fruit trees would be planted.

There’s something incredible about the moment you see that first blossom on a tree, isn’t there? But do you remember the excitement of planting when you first began? There’s joy in the whole process! Sometimes we have the opportunity to see it from start to finish, but if we don’t, we can take joy in knowing that someone else is able to reap the harvest and enjoy what we helped to begin.

1 Corinthians 3:4–8

“For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere human beings?
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.”

Spiritual growth. That’s what Paul’s talking about here. There was great division among the church about who was greater—Paul or Apollos—for their work for Christ. Some believed they were better because it was Paul who had led them to salvation and then had baptized them. But Paul said, Who am I?

He acknowledged that he and Apollos were both simply workers in the field. One planted, one watered, and the harvest—well, that was the Lord. The Holy Spirit works inside each of us:

first, calling us with conviction when we hear the truth, the Word of God

then, the understanding comes of our need for a Savior

then, salvation through belief and repentance

then, baptism to show our acceptance of Christ’s work and our new life

and then, our spiritual growth

Along the way, the Lord chooses to use us as workers in His field. Sometimes we have the privilege of tending to the soil, preparing the person for the truth they will one day understand and believe. Other times, we get the chance to be the one to plant the seed—to share the gospel with them of how Jesus loves them and has offered to forgive their sins. But it doesn’t mean salvation happens right then. For some, it may take years. Does that mean we shouldn’t have shared the gospel yet? No. It just means they need continuous watering and nourishment. We keep giving them the Word of God, trusting the Lord to do the work. Maybe—just maybe—we have the honor of being there the moment someone decides they need Jesus and are ready to be saved. We get the privilege of leading them to Christ and being a part of the harvest. We may have only had one conversation with them beforehand. But it’s not about our work—it’s about what God has been doing within them. And then, the joy continues. The Lord might decide to use us to continue helping them in their growth as we teach them through discipleship.

Not one person is more important or deserving of credit. We are mere workers in the Father’s field.

Ready the soil.
Plant the seed.
Water the ground.
Watch it grow.
Harvest the fruit.
And continue caring for the orchard.

Learn more about discipleship and how to grow in Christ through FOLLOW. Go to follow.lifeword.org and now in Spanish at follow.lifeword.org/spanish.