(This essay is the latest in the series on the Quinault Community Garden — the first was “God in the Garden: God is Good” and can be found here.)

Trust in the LORD, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Psalm 37:3

God is faithful. The Bible tells us this, and we would agree with this statement if someone asked. But how often do we take notice of God’s faithfulness in our day-to-day lives? A lot of the time, we get wrapped up in our busy schedules and our work and trying to accomplish what we think is important, to the point that we can forget that God is the one who holds everything together — including our paychecks and our bank balance.

Until something happens and our bank balance and bills don’t match up any more, that is. Then we are forced to ask ourselves, do I really believe with my heart what I say with my mouth about God’s faithfulness? Will my actions during crisis show that I trust God to provide what I need when I need it?

Times of crisis are good for revealing the heart, but we don’t have to wait until we’re at rock bottom to look to God for a display of His grace and wonder and provision. In our community garden, we can see God’s faithfulness being worked out. We come together as a group of workers — as gardeners! — and we do all that we can to prepare the ground, plant the seeds, tend the beds, and wait for the harvest. But it’s God who makes the seeds become plants and the plants produce vegetables. We just can’t do that part. At all. We have to trust that God will do it. And when He does, we will literally be able to feed on His faithfulness, in the form of tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and carrots and lettuce and whatever else we decide to plant.

Already we’ve seen God’s faithfulness in the garden displayed through His provision of the materials and help we need to get this endeavor off the ground. His provision has come through donations of money for supplies, time and labor for building the beds, and equipment to carry out the work. It is beautiful to wait and watch what God does when we have needs, and we are thankful for His faithfulness.