“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.” Leviticus 26:3-4
This week, the boys and I had a chance to ride in a combine as the fields around our home were harvested. The farmer who allowed us to has faithfully let us do this each year since we moved to where we are now and we enjoy the opportunity and always learn something new. Seeing the seed planted, watching it grow for months and months, and witnessing the harvest really is a sacred thing. It takes tremendous patience, perseverance, and faith to farm. As we stepped back out onto the harvested ground, several more “grounding” experiences came to mind that reminded me of the significance of the ground on which we walk.
Ground, maybe not a word we think about often. Maybe not a “thing” we consider yet we stand on it every day. A couple weeks ago we watched as ground was broken to bury a wonderful man who had lived a full life into his 90’s, to now be returned into the ground. The fruits, vegetables, and flowers we plant are in the ground. Much of our travel to and from wherever we go is on the ground. We hit the ground when something is coming in overhead. Some even fall to the ground in prayer and reverence.
“Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.” Daniel 10:9
Ground is more commonly thought of as the surface of the earth; however, we often use the word “grounded” when referring to the base, reason, or justification of something1.
Ground became symbolic to me after God brought Psalm 40 to me many years ago:
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…” Psalm 40:1-2
There is a town I visit when I need to be “grounded.” It is the place I surrendered to God and He opened my eyes and as I walk those sidewalks, sit on the swings at the park, and drive the streets, it is sacred ground for me. It reminds me where I was, where I am and how God got me here. How He delivered me from pain and suffering. It is my “Egypt” I’ve realized, and being there grounds me in the truth that God is my Father and anything that may be swirling around me now is nothing He hasn’t already faced and can help me handle. He already has and can do it again.
In Charlotte’s Web, one of the words Templeton brings back to Charlotte to etch into her web is “humble.” And they describe it as being low to the ground (like Wilbur). The Latin word “humilis” means low2.
The lower we get, the closer to the ground we get and the more we can be in a place of reverence to our Father in Heaven. That ground where nutrients are supplied to our food sources. That ground where roots spread out and take hold for stability. That ground where our feet stand for a firm foundation. That ground where our loved ones are buried, keeping us humble. Reminding us where all good things come from and return to.
“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground…” Genesis 2:7
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” Genesis 3:19
No matter what “ground” you stand on today. Our Father has taught us how to be wise builders.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
Father, we come to you today to reestablish our ground in You alone. Remove anything blinding our eyes that will make our foundation unstable when Jesus returns. Make us humble yet confident. Instill us with appreciation for the ground beneath us; the solid ground you have provided that brings us stability, nourishment, and a place to root. When the next storm comes, let our feet be on a rock, steady, and unmoving. We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
P.S. Today’s image is of my boys and I literally standing on a rock in the middle of a river. Felt perfect for this message, may not be “ground” but our Father provided a rock to stand on!
Love, Julie
Father, Today I Surrender:
My Ground
Show me the next step I should take.