From a Cloud the Size of a Man’s Hand to a Storm              Pastor. Songsoo Park

(Matthew 13:31–32 / 1 Kings 18:42–46)                       

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back. "The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' " Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.  The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

 

In today’s reading from Matthew 13:31, Jesus says something truly radical.
He teaches that within something so small and unnoticed by others, God has hidden His kingdom and grace.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds…”

Friends, have you ever read the poem "A Single Jujube" by poet Jang Seok-joo?

That didn’t turn red on its own.
Inside it are a few typhoons,
Inside it are a few thunderclaps,
Inside it are a few lightning bolts—
It’s those things that made it ripen red.

That didn’t become round on its own.
Inside it are a few frostbitten nights,
Inside it are a couple of months of scorching sun,
Inside it are a few crescent moons—
It’s those things that made it round.

Friends, inside that tiny jujube is not just a single seed.
Inside is the scorching heat of midday, the lightning of the heavenly courts in storms, the tenacious force of life that sprouts even in darkness, grows stems, blooms flowers, and finally bears fruit.
That’s the power and vitality of the seed.
That’s what a jujube is, and that’s what a mustard seed is.

In the same way, God’s kingdom, God’s heaven, and God’s grace are also like this.
God has hidden the power and grace of His kingdom in things so small and trivial that we easily overlook them.

The person of faith must be able to recognize and uncover that grace and power of God that are hidden in such small and seemingly insignificant things.

And once we find that grace and power, we must let them sprout, grow stems, and become strong trees.

But friends, there’s something we must always remember when God gives us grace.
Sometimes He gives it already complete, like fruit ready to be harvested.
But other times, He gives it as a seed.

Yes, when it’s given like fruit, all we have to do is take it.
But when grace is given as a seed, we can’t just take it.
We need time—spiritual time—to sweat, to persevere in faith, to wait as it sprouts, grows, flowers, and finally bears fruit.

But because we don’t understand this, we end up missing many of the seeds of grace that God plants in our lives.

In today’s passage from 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah did not receive God’s grace like a beautiful, ripe fruit.
What he received looked more like an insignificant, tiny seed.

Seeing it, one could complain:
“What kind of grace is this? What kind of power of God is this?”
But Elijah did not overlook that tiny seed-like grace.

A great example of this comes from 1 Kings 17.
There was no rain in northern Israel for 3.5 years, and famine swept the land.
The Bible highlights two starving people during this time:

1.    Elijah, who had prophesied the drought, and

2.    A widow in Zarephath.

In 1 Kings 17:8–9, God gives a message to Elijah:

“Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.’”

At that point, Elijah had been drinking from the brook and being fed by ravens—but when the brook dried up, God told him to go to Zarephath where a widow would provide food.

At the same time, God had already spoken to the widow:

“I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

So, what did these two starving people do when they heard God’s voice?

First, Elijah’s response is in 1 Kings 17:10–11:

“So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’”

Elijah obeyed God’s word exactly.
He didn’t see the widow’s small handful of flour as her “last meal,” but as a seed of grace from God.
He believed that God would make that seed sprout and bear fruit.

Now the widow’s response, in 1 Kings 17:12:

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

She didn’t see her handful of flour as a seed of grace, but as poverty, despair, and a curse leading to death.

But what happened to that tiny handful of flour?

In 1 Kings 17:14–16:

“For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”

Yes—what the widow saw as hopeless, as a symbol of poverty and death, Elijah recognized as the seed of God’s abundant grace.

Why could Elijah see God’s power, grace, and abundance in just a handful of flour?
Because he had faith in God’s promises.

This Bible you’re holding contains thousands of God’s promises.
But these promises are like seeds.
Only when we hold onto them with faith and pray do they begin to sprout.

So what’s important is this:
When we hold onto God’s Word and pray, we must remember certain spiritual truths, which we see again in Elijah’s story.

In 1 Kings 18:42–43:

“Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
‘Go and look toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’”

This was after Elijah had rebuilt God’s altar and defeated the prophets of Baal.
He believed God would now send rain again—and he prayed earnestly.

As James 5:17 says:

“Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain…”

Elijah prayed that fervently based on God’s promise—
but nothing happened at first.
Still, he kept praying.
And he kept sending his servant to look toward the sea—for signs of rain.
He did this seven times.

That number “seven” doesn’t just mean a literal seven times.
It means to keep checking persistently, until something appears.

Finally, the servant sees something:

In 1 Kings 18:44:

“The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’”

Yes—it was just a tiny, insignificant cloud, the size of a man’s hand.
It looked nothing like the storm Israel needed.

But how did Elijah respond?

Also in 1 Kings 18:44:

“‘Go and tell Ahab, “Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”’”

Elijah saw that tiny cloud and said, “The great rain is coming! Hurry before it stops you!”

Elijah prayed earnestly and brought forth the seed of God’s promise.
So when he saw just a small cloud, he rejoiced.
He could tell others that this was the grace of God—
because even the tiniest cloud can be the seed of a storm that ends a famine.

Friends, are you wondering why God hasn’t answered your prayers yet?
Why He hasn’t brought resolution?
When you're feeling impatient—keep praying, and keep looking.
Look for the seed of your answered prayer.
Look for the seed of your breakthrough.

Maybe your seed is a small handful of flour, like Elijah saw.
Maybe it’s a tiny cloud in the sky.
Maybe it’s the stone Jacob used as a pillow in the wilderness.
Maybe it’s the shepherd’s staff Moses held.
Maybe it’s the five smooth stones David picked up in the valley of Elah.
Maybe it’s the vine that shaded Jonah before it withered.
Maybe it’s the five loaves and two fish in a little boy’s hands.
Maybe it’s the two copper coins the poor widow gave.

What’s important is this: Even if it seems small and insignificant, if you can see it as the seed of God’s promise, and give thanks, and pray—
then from that seed, God’s grace will surely sprout and bear fruit.

As 1 Corinthians 2:12 says:

“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

I pray that the Spirit of God will be with you—
so that you can recognize and find the seeds of grace God has placed in the small and insignificant things of life.
If that’s the seed of grace God has given you—pray, wait, trust.
He will surely bring it to full fruit.