Switch The Seed

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” 24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” 26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” 28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Matthew 15:21-26



A seed is something you plant in hopes it grows into something truly beautiful and useful. Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters the seed and while he's asleep or awake the seed sprouts and grows, and he does not understand how it happens (Mark 4:26-27). He goes on to say the earth produces the crops on its own (28). This applies to the seeds you plant in life. I don't mean the garden variety, go out in the yard, dig a hole, drop the seed in the hole, and cover it up type of activity. I'm talking about the seeds we plant in the world around us and the people around us. How do we plant these seeds you might ask. It's through the words and actions we use daily, that we are planting seeds inside people's hearts. So, if we are displaying and speaking joy, then we plant joy in someone's heart. If we display and speak bitterness and negativity, we sow those seeds into others around us.   

The story above is one of my all time favorites because of the woman's response. This story is also found in the book of Mark, and if you read both accounts you can get different perspectives. This women was desperate for her daughter to be free, so look at what she had to endure from Jesus. First of all, He ignored her. Now, I don't know if you've ever ignored a woman before as she was talking directly to you, but believe me, it's never a good thing to do. But instead of whining about being ignored, she begs even more. She begs so much she irritates those around Jesus, making them beg Him to do something. That should speak volumes to someone. Never give up praying and speaking forth your miracle. Pray and speak it forth so much that it gets on the nerves of those around you, that they'll be begging God for your miracle. 

It's the next part that gets me every time. Jesus responds to her begging by explaining He was only sent to His people, the Jews. Then out of nowhere, He calls her a dog. Now, this is Jesus. You know, the "call on His name and you'll be saved" Jesus. The "Kumbaya my Lord" Jesus. The healer, redeemer, savior Jesus, calling my sista a dog. Now, in any other circumstance the gloves, nails, shoes, or wig would of been off, but look at her response. Instead of reacting, she responded. I don't know if she was truly desperate to see her child free, or if she really knew her place in all of this. But, instead of sowing seeds of bitterness, discontentment, envy, resentment, and offense, she decides to surrender her own will. She was willing to take whatever Jesus could give her, knowing whatever the Savior would give, it was much more than the world had to offer. 

She decided to "Switch the Seed"! Instead of planting the seeds of pain, resentment, hostility, and bitterness, she planted the seed of surrender. And with that seed she planted, came a harvest of faith, love, hope, and healing. One of the reasons we're not seeing a harvest of these in our family is we're planting the wrong seed. SWITCH THE SEED! We need to start Switching the Seed if we want to see not just our family prosper, but our country prosper as well. It is time my brother, it is time my sister, to SWITCH THE SEED!  

If you want to see an abundant harvest, you must Switch The Seed!