09/06/2026
“Fertilize Your Faith” by Cher D.
Deacon’s Reading & Reflection for Sunday, September 6, 2026
Psalm 73: 23-26 –
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Matthew 11:28-30 – 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Reflection:
While catching up with a neighbor this week, I lamented how poorly my garden did this year. I told her that, despite planting on time, staying on top of weeding the beds, and having plentiful rain and sunshine, we only harvested a meager crop of cherry tomatoes and green beans. Even our carving pumpkins, which generally do very well for us, were small and full of worms. To all of this, she gently asked what I had used for fertilizer… well, I realized that hadn’t fertilized my raised beds at all. For years, I didn’t need to fertilize because there was a base layer of chicken manure in the bottom of each raised bed. Obviously, the chicken manure had run its course, and this was the year that the garden soil needed more nourishment.
Like keeping a garden, our faith practice also relies on many elements to thrive. Christianity is said to have five core pillars: faith, study, prayer, fellowship, and service. Each pillar serves an important purpose in enriching and growing our faith. Our faith practice can be stable without all five pillars, but you need all five to have a solid faith practice that keeps your relationship with God growing and help shield you from burning out.
In my walk, there have been many times that I have felt burnt out. I pray, seek, believe, commune with other Christians, and yet feel burnt out because I still witness suffering and still carry suffering within me. When I feel a gap between me and God, service is usually the missing piece. Volunteering or getting involved in a good cause gives me a chance to physically, tangibly do and witness goodness. It renews my spirit and faith in others. Service is my fertilizer.
As summer draws to a close and the beautiful signs of fall become more prevalent, take a moment to check-in with yourself and see if your faith needs fertilizing. Fall is a perfect season to explore God’s blessings and glory. It is a perfect time to slow down and enrich your faith.
Prayer: Let us pray – Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we get to have a relationship with you. Help us to remember that we are not alone as we carry our burdens along life’s path. Remind us that we walk with You and with our fellow believers. Teach us to use our faith, Bible studies, prayer time, fellowship, and good deeds to fertilize our faith and grow closer to you and your truth.
In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
