Do you ever feel as though you’ve done everything right yet things don’t work out the way you hope? You’re not alone.
Recently I took it upon myself to read through the Psalms. Before making it too far into that endeavor, I stumbled upon this:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
I’m no botanist, but even I know the most healthy citrus trees don’t bear fruit 365 days a year; there is a season for everything. In fact, that reminds me of what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3.
There are seasons for fruitfulness. A lack of fruit may not necessarily be a sign of an unhealthy tree, perhaps it’s just not in season. Then again the opposite could be true, too. Your tree could be a lemon. (Pun completely intended)
A lack of fruit may not necessarily be a sign of an unhealthy tree, perhaps it’s just not in season. Then again the opposite could be true, too.
All this to say: if your life lacks visible fruit, it could simply be that it’s not time for fruitfulness. This could very well be a season of growth, preparing for fruitfulness. You must simply be faithful to what God has before you.
Do you see a lack of fruit in your life? Perhaps this will help: faithfulness is greater than success. The whole idea of success has skewed us. We seek it as our prize, when in fact faithfulness is what God desires from us. The fruit will come with faithfulness; so will a good deal of patience.
How could you better implement the discipline of faithfulness in your life?