Thursday, June 22, 2017

Your fruit is in the wait...


I feel like over the last several weeks, the Lord has been giving me these challenging words. He’s been pushing people out of their dry places and into destiny. He’s been calling on you to not be satisfied with what was and stretch for what He has called you to do. Today after prayer, He began to talk to me about those of you that have read those words and responded with, “I’m waiting but I haven’t seen results from my obedience.” He said something really simple yet I think very profound. He said, waiting produces fruit! He began to talk to me about the strawberry plant. He said so many people want the plump, sweet juicy strawberry but they don’t want the process, the maintenance, and the ripening that brings that result. Did you know that strawberries require full exposure to the sun and usually in the first year of starting a strawberry field, you don’t yield much fruit because the plant is using its reserves to develop healthy roots? I didn’t! I read an article in Wikipedia that said, “Strawberries are tough and will survive many conditions, but during fruit formation, moisture is vital, especially if growing in containers. Moreover, protection must be provided against slugs and snails which attack the ripe fruit.” That’s a sermon right there! Some of you to take some lessons from the strawberry!

But I hear you asking what any of this has to do with you. Well the Lord said to tell you, “Do not forsake the waiting process trying to speed up what I’m trying to cultivate. Don’t rush through it, trying to make things move because you are uncomfortable in the stillness.  Let me bring your vision, your ministry, your dream to the place where it is ready to be received.” He then reminded me what an unripened strawberry tastes like. It’s a little bitter and watery and never quite lives up to your expectation. Do you know why it’s like that? It’s because the fruit stops ripening the minute you remove it from the plant. That’s why you taste such a difference between store bought strawberries and those picked right out of the field. Some of us try to fix strawberries that aren’t ready with some sugar but it still doesn’t compare to when you get a strawberry that was picked at the right time. You cannot in your own power create what God has already laid out for you. Just like strawberries, you need to keep yourself watered in the word of God and protected from attack. When you stay close to the vine, you will have the abiding and protective love of Christ. He will ensure that when the time of manifestation comes, you are ready to go out under His strength.

Jesus said in John 15: 5- 8, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. (MSG)

Trust that what God is doing is intentional and purposeful. Every, hour, day, month and even year that you have spent waiting has not been wasted. It’s being used to produce a fruit that is sweet and satisfying. Be sure that you aren’t looking at the wait as a torture but instead as a time of cultivation as God prepares that great harvest with your name on it. Your vision will benefit from the wait, if you stay connected and expectant.

Amen…

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