God wants us to stop looking back on our past with regret. Instead look to the future with glorious expectations.

Over the past 10 years or so, we’ve lived in 4 different cities and have had the chance to experience the differences in cultures across the US. I know it’s the USA, but Midwestern culture is very different from Southern culture and from North Eastern culture.

With our first move, we experienced great loss, as thieves broke in and stole most of our valuables while we were transitioning.

Over the years I’ve had multiple conversations with God about the restoration of all that was stolen, in accordance with His word. However, in my mind, there seemed to be no plan for restoration on His part.

Loss is always a burdensome experience, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a job, a pet, or ones belongings. It leaves us grieving on some level. This was no different. All of our electronics, jewelry and other valuables were taken, and it bothered me more that the stolen items included my son’s ‘toys’.

Recently though God has been giving me new sight of the entire situation. I’ve learned that things lost aren’t always losses, they’re sometimes seeds planted. In Job 42:10 we see that Job’s very tragic losses were seeds sown, “The LORD doubled everything that Job had once possessed”.

John 12:24 reminds us, “…unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Consider also that each fruit produced also has seeds that will reproduce.

Seeds planted don’t sprout, grow and bear fruit in an instant. It takes time. Do you have seeds hidden deep in the dirt that you think have been lost for good? Pause and ask our heavenly Father to elevate your sight to see beyond chronos which is chronological or sequential time, to kairos which is proper or opportune time for action. In the proper time, those seeds will sprout and bear fruit.

Did you know that pineapples take 2-3 years to bear fruit, pear trees take 4-6 years and papayas take 7-9 years? I’m just saying that because you don’t see things happening, it doesn’t mean that nothing is going on. God’s timing is perfect, trust Him.

While we await germination we can consider what’s happening in the soil of our hearts: is there sufficient water, sunlight and the necessary nutrients for the seeds to thrive? Is God plowing and pH testing the soil to ensure that the seed produce an abundance of fruit?

Don’t give up and stop watering the soil. God is telling you today to begin making preparations for your bountiful harvest. Prepare as a mother prepares to welcome her newborn baby.

Gather lots of jars like the prophet’s widow to whom Elisha gave the gift of the multiplying olive oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). It’s important to note that the oil was limited only by her faith. It didn’t stop flowing until all of the jars she gathered were full. Whether she had chosen to gather two, two thousand or two million jars, they would have all been filled.

What’s the limit of your faith? Are you trusting God for a new pair of shoes or are you believing Him for nations? Remember only your faith limits you. God isn’t restricted by the conditions, customs or constitutions of this earth, neither are you. I reiterate, it’s just your faith. 1 John 5:4 reminds us, “Every child of God can defeat (overcome) the world (world’s ways), and our faith is what gives us this victory.”

Today, I want to encourage us to “look away from the natural realm and fasten our gaze on Jesus who leads us and makes our faith complete.” Hebrews 12:2.

Finally, “…thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place,” 2 Corinthians 2:14.

Abba Father, I pray your Word over your children reading this today. I pray, “…that they may know You [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with You, understanding the remarkable wonders of Your Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of Your resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that they may share] the fellowship of Your sufferings, by being continually conformed inwardly into Your likeness even to Your death.” Philippians 3:10 AMP.

That they may genuinely say, “I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me”. Galatians 2:20 CEV

Father, give them the grace to understand that none of their efforts or experiences in life are wasted, as Romans 8:28 says, “… we can be sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Amen.