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October 9 Bible in a Year: Isaiah 32-33; Colossians 1 Slow, Patient Growth in God The seed on good soil stands for those . . . who hear the word, retain it, and . . . produce a crop. Luke 8:15 READ Luke 8:4-15Wq8hPCNYdA) A saguaro cactus is never in a hurry to grow. Flourishing amid some of the most barren desert climates in the world, the plant slowly takes root over a lifetime of steady, plodding growth. Over its first decade, a Saguaro may grow as little as 1.5 inches. It may take thirty-five years to flower, and its arms can take fifty years to form. The cactus, however, can live up to two hundred years, reach forty-five feet high, and weigh up to two tons. Over a lifetime, it yields a remarkable forty million seeds. A Saguaro’s growth is slow, but resilient. Jesus used agricultural imagery to describe how His believers grow in the kingdom of God. Telling a parable of seeds sowed among various types of soil, He concluded with a description of how the final seeds “fell on good soil . . . and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown” (Luke 8:8). Christ explained how those seeds “in the good soil” are ones who “[hear] the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (v. 15 esv). There’s a strong yield, abundant growth—but it only comes when we receive the wisdom of God and then patiently allow the Holy Spirit to produce growth in us. This is how spiritual growth typically works. We may have explosive spurts, but our progress will typically be slow, as we receive God’s wisdom, follow His ways, and watch the Spirit work. By Winn Collier REFLECT & PRAY Where do you get impatient with the slow way of spiritual growth? How can you relax and trust? Dear God, please help me to patiently trust Your ways. Amen.