Look to the Son: A lesson from a sunflower
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear God’s voice audibly as Moses did? While most of us can’t claim to have heard God’s actual voice, He still speaks to us in unique ways. The question is: Are we listening when He is trying to get our attention?
One way I’ve learned to tune in is by paying attention to clear pictures that come to mind, especially during prayer. Sometimes, I can’t figure out what they mean, maybe it’s simply my own mind coming up with an image from something I saw or heard. But then there are times when a message is so clear that it practically jumps out at me, and there is no doubt it is something God wanted to reveal to me. (Note: God will never speak in contradiction to His word. One way to discern His voice - use the bible as a guide.)
Recently, our pastor shared with me a vivid image of a sunflower and Cassidy’s name popped into his mind while he was praying. He wasn’t sure if the sunflower had any meaning to us but felt prompted to share it.
Initially, it wasn’t obvious to me if a sunflower had any significance to Cassidy, so naturally, I did what anyone would do: I googled “facts about sunflowers”.
Some of these facts were new and surprising to me:
A sunflower can contain up to 1,000 seeds, and each seed can grow into another sunflower. Wow, what amazing potential one sunflower has!
A sunflower is made up of thousands of tiny flowers. The petals and center, which we often think of as one flower, are individual flowers on their own. I am constantly amazed at how amazing God’s creation is!
Sunflowers absorb toxins.
In some parts of the world, they are believed to help with health issues such as chest pain and kidney disease. (Interesting: Cassidy was born with both a heart defect and kidney disease)
But the most striking thing I found in my research was how sunflowers seek out the sun during their bud phase. They literally follow the sun from east to west. Without the sun, the sunflower will wither and fail to grow.
It made me think: just like the sunflower needs the sun to thrive, we need the Son - Jesus - to grow and bear fruit. Without Him, there’s no life, no growth, and no potential for the beauty and purpose we’re meant to live in. The sunflower turns to the sun to become all it’s meant to be, and we, too, must look to Jesus to fulfill our calling and produce the fruit He has planned for us. If one sunflower has the potential to reproduce thousands more, how much more does God have in store for us?
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Matthew 6:30 NLT
