I can definitely tell you that gardens do not always go according to plan. One year my wife and I watched as hail storm after hail storm slowly stripped the leaves from our pepper plants. It was only a matter of time before all hope was lost. “I don’t think we’re going to have peppers this year.” That certainly wasn’t what we planned. But such is the life of a gardener: you plant your seed and you wait and see what happens. Farmers understand that, too. Even with today’s computers helping farmers be more productive than they’ve ever been, it’s still up to the Lord whether or not you’ll have a good season. Just ask the ones who plant corn only to have flood waters from a nearby river destroy their fields. The wise gardener and the wise farmer understand these things. They “get” how God is in control and if he wants the fields to grow they will grow.

Jesus tells us that’s how his word operates. It goes out like seeds get spread into the ground. And if the seed of God's message finds good soil and isn’t rejected, then it grows. Our job is really just to plant the seed. God will take care of the rest. As God’s planters, we go and throw the seed of the gospel and those seeds fall in many places. After that, God will handle the results.