A Lesson From the Corn Patch

Early this past Monday morning, a weather front moved in from the northwest with a driving rain and some fairly gusty winds. It didn’t last very long but in the wake of it all, about three-quarters of our sweet corn was laying flat on the ground. I am not telling you that it was leaning over, I mean flat on the ground.

I took one look at that garden and figured we just lost our corn crop. There was no way for us to stand it back up, and even if we could, how would we keep it up? So I called farmer Burke and asked him what we should do. He asked if it had snapped off at the base. I said, no, but it was laying down flat. He said, don’t worry about it, it will curl right back up and be fine.

Now, I have to admit, I didn’t see how that was going to happen; to me it was like trying to do sit-ups from the ankles. So, I got my camera and took some before pictures. Then, I went out every day to see it for myself. Sure enough, just like Burke said, that corn started curling toward the sky. It was as if someone had tied an invisible string to the tops of all the tassels and slowly lifted them up without breaking a stalk or a single tassel.

Although this is nothing new for any of our farmer folks, it was truly amazing to me. God has packed our natural world with some awesome object lessons. The winds of adversity can whip through our lives just like that fast moving cold front. And we, much like those corn stalks, can find ourselves knocked flat to the ground. Getting back up may seem impossible. Others may look at our situation and have no idea how to help. What on earth can we do about it?

Then the Son comes out and the light of His Word shines upon our dismal dilemma, warming our hearts and giving us hope. Slowly we feel ourselves being drawn by His Spirit back to our feet. With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). His grace is sufficient; His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). In all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37).

Have the winds of adversity knocked you flat on your back? Are you struggling beneath the weight of relational burdens, physical ailments or financial hardships? Take a lesson from the sweet corn and bask in the sunshine of God’s Word. Allow His Spirit to minister to your heart and raise you up so that you can be fruitful once again.