Wednesday Read: The Invisible Kingdom
Jesus described God's kingdom using the most mundane imagery imaginable - yeast in dough, seeds in soil, coins lost and found. When his disciples expected political revolution and dramatic displays of power, he talked about farmers scattering seed (Mark 4:26-27). The kingdom grows, he said, though the farmer "knows not how." It's invisible work producing visible results.
This frustrated everyone expecting something more impressive. The Pharisees asked when God's kingdom would come; Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:20-21). It was already present but unrecognized because they were looking for the wrong thing.
We make the same mistake. We want visible transformation - dramatic conversions, obvious answers to prayer, unmistakable divine intervention. We measure spiritual growth by external metrics: how many Bible chapters read, how many minutes prayed, how many people evangelized. But Jesus said the kingdom is like yeast - invisible work that quietly transforms the whole batch of dough.
This is how real change happens. A tree doesn't grow through visible effort - it grows through invisible processes of absorbing nutrients, strengthening roots, and converting sunlight to energy. You can't see it growing, but over years the tiny sapling becomes a massive oak. Spiritual formation works the same way. You can't see yourself growing in patience, but over time you notice you're reacting differently to the same frustrations. You can't observe yourself becoming more like Christ, but people who've known you for years can see the change.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians: "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). The visible reality was deterioration - aging bodies, increasing persecution, mounting opposition. But the invisible reality was renewal - transformation happening at a level deeper than observation can reach. What you can see isn't the whole story. Often it's not even the important story.
This matters practically in February. Your resolutions may have failed visibly, but invisible work might still be happening. Maybe you're not reading Scripture as consistently as planned, but the verses you have read are slowly reshaping how you think. Maybe you're not praying as long as intended, but your prayers are becoming more honest. Maybe you're not conquering sin dramatically, but you're noticing temptation earlier and resisting more often. This growth isn't impressive to observers - it's invisible kingdom work.
Elijah thought he was the only faithful prophet left in Israel. God told him there were 7,000 others who hadn't bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:18) - invisible faithful people doing unseen obedient work. They weren't famous, weren't recognized, weren't celebrated. But they were the true Israel, the faithful remnant, the ones actually advancing God's purposes while everyone watched the dramatic confrontations.
Most of God's work is like that - invisible until it's not, unrecognized until it matters, unseen until the moment it becomes undeniable. Your job isn't to produce visible results that impress observers. Your job is to be faithful in the invisible places where character is formed, where habits are built, where the kingdom grows like yeast in dough - quietly, invisibly, but unstoppably.
