BY DAWN REED

It caught my eye as I drove out of the church parking lot. I slammed on the brakes and then inched backward to take a look. There, in the middle of the blacktop, was a tiny sprout of green.

Getting out of the car, I couldn’t help smiling. In a large field of asphalt, a determined seedling had pushed through layer upon layer to reach the light. Its presence is an inspiring sight to those who might catch a glimpse. And then I did what you do nowadays: I took a picture.

“Look at you…growing in a hard spot,” I said aloud to the little green sprout and then headed off to work.

I turned that phrase over and over again as I drove: “Growing in a hard spot.” It’s where we often find ourselves, between the praying of the prayers and the answer of the prayers. It’s where the rubber meets the road, the uphill both ways. You don’t have time for me to tell you about all the hard spots my beloved and I have grown in. I’m sure you have your own stories. But it’s in the hard spots where we learn the deepest lessons and character of God. He. Is. Faithful.

Years ago, when older people said, “He is faithful,” I felt like that was such a churchy thing to say. Surely everybody knew that God was faithful. He’s God, after all. But in lean times, in the hard spots, we learn just how faithful He is. When He is all we have…we learn He is enough.

I thought of Daniel. You know he never went back home, right? Kidnapped as a teenager and taken to a pagan land, he anchored his heart to the One True and Living God, becoming a godly example to his friends, peers and kings. He faced death warrants, was persecuted for his faith, and ultimately thrown in a den of lions for his dedicated prayer life. He definitely knew what growing in a hard spot was like. That hard spot was Babylon.

The book of Genesis shows us that Joseph could have written a bestseller on growing in a hard spot. Attacked by his brothers and sold as a slave in Egypt, he became a servant to Potiphar—one of Pharoah’s officials. Potiphar’s wife tempted him daily, but Joseph refused, choosing to run away instead. Her lies sent him to prison for a long time. Genesis 39:20-21 shares that Joseph was not alone; the LORD was with him. Joseph was there in prison for many years, forgotten. But the LORD was working.

The Apostle Paul wrote many good words from prison-one of his many hard spots. He let the believers in Philippi know that he was pressing on (Philippians 3:14). In 4:13, he penned, “I can do all things through Christ.” Not some things, but all things. He also shared Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” Not our strength but the Lord’s.

Paul continues to encourage, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.

Like the little green seedling in the blacktop, you may feel like you are pressing through layers of heaviness and darkness, straining to reach the light. If you feel overwhelmed with life and the hard spot you are in, there are a few things to remember: 1) Make sure you take time to be encouraged by God’s Word. It’s alive and active! Let Him speak to you through it. 2) Talk to Him. Just spill the tea or the beans. He loves you and wants to hear your voice. 3) Always remember that nothing is too hard for God. He can still open the seas, slay the giant, provide food in the desert, and give sight to the blind.

He can make a sprout grow in asphalt.