A few years ago, the Lord put the below writing on my heart to minister to a
special group of women who had been abused as children. Abuse is no
respecter of persons and its ramifications can cripple a woman for a lifetime.
While its sole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus came that we
would have life and have it more abundantly. There is hope for healing in the
loving arms of our Heavenly Father and I pray that this ministers to any woman
who was abused as a child.
When I went for a run on the trail this glorious morning,
the air was balmy, the birds were chirping, and the hope of Spring surrounded
me. As my feet pounded the pavement, I went before the Father in prayer and
beseeched Him on behalf of the women to whom I was ministering. Their
names, their precious faces, and their horrific stories were swirling in my
mind when I looked down and saw a delicate shoot pressing through the damp
earth. It was then that the Lord began to speak to me about them and once again
displayed how intimately acquainted He is with each of them.
Psalm 139 says that God knew us before we were woven in our
mother’s womb and all the days ordained for us were written in His book
before one of them came to be. Much like that tender shoot pressing
through the earth, these women were once a seed. Encapsulated in their tiny
shell were all of the good works, plans, and potential that God ordained for
them to walk out and live on this earth.
However, this precious little seed was planted in unfertile
soil were insects, grubs, and worms sought to peck at its shell and destroy the
beauty and potential that lay within. Layers and layers of dirt and grime
continued to pile on top of the precious little seed, suffocating it and
seemingly blocking any hope of light ever filtering in. It’s shell now
nicked, scarred, and bruised, the seed still continued to survive – it’s faint
hope of beauty now a shallow heartbeat and a mere thread of what it once was.
Despite the evil that came in to kill, steal, and destroy,
God protected that precious little seed and ordained a season when hope and
healing would reign in its stead. One day, the water of His Word began to
trickle down into the earth. It washed over the seed and began to provide
the necessary nourishment for life. Hope was stirred and the heartbeat of the
precious little seed began to quicken. His Word began to nourish the
surrounding darkness and the soil that was once toxic became fertile.
The surrounding earth now moistened, the light of the Son is
able to trickle down and press through the dark earth. The precious
little seed feels the warmth and love of the Son and, wanting more, it draws
upon what little remaining strength it has and presses through its shell.
As the water continues to cleanse, purify, nourish, and
renew, and the Son continues to lavish warmth and love upon the precious seed,
a tiny shoot appears. Finding fertile soil on which to grow now, it
begins to take root and continues to press upwards towards the Son.
Little by little, day by the day, the process continues
until one day, the precious little seed finds that it is now existing solely in
the light. It’s roots strong and with life coursing through its veins, it
bursts open its buds in a breathtaking display of beauty that was destined
before its life even began on this earth. As the full potential and power
of the Holy Spirit is finally unleashed, the beautiful flower emits a sweet,
sweet fragrance that floats up through the air and pleases her Lord.
Colorful, vibrant, and with a beauty unmatched, the precious
little seed has now become a planting of the Lord. She spends her days basking
in the light and love of the Son and drinking in the life-giving Word of her
Father. The dirt, grime, grubs, insects, and worms now only a distant memory as
she lives, moves, and has her being in Him and walks out the days and the good
plans He ordained for her before the beginning of time.
Isaiah 43:19 “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall
spring forth.”
By Shannon M. Nass
