It's harvest season and there are a lot of fruits that grow on vines being harvested. Watermelon, pumpkin, and the remaining harvest that may be left from the summer seasons. Fruit comes in the season it's designed for, rarely early and seldom late. In those times when fruit does come early, it's never an abundance of fruit, but rather one or two pieces. It's also rarely the best fruit.
The same is true with the latter fruit - that fruit which comes past the season. Rarely do I buy peaches after the end of July. Sure there are still peaches around for sale, and they look great. Sometimes they even feel perfect to the touch, but when you bite into them, they're often grainy and very dissatisfying.
But that fruit that comes in the season it was meant for, that fruit is delicious and very satisfying. When we think about the fruit of our lives, the same is true. We will all show fruit, some bad fruit, or some good fruit, depending on its source. When we think of the good fruit, we have to understand our seasons. Those seasons are prescribed by our Father - the One who formed us, gave us a unique design with our very own fingerprint.
We are called to use our gifts in different ways. Some of those gifts may be natural gifts based on the design He gave us from conception. Some of those gifts may be special gifts, that He has given us even though they may even be contrary to our natural abilities. But whatever those gifts are that you've been given, the question may be asked as to the fruit they will bear. If we try to push ahead, out of God's timing, we may bear fruit, but it will be sparse, and potentially sour.
If we hold on to those gifts too long, leaving them on the vine past their due season. Sometimes we wait out of fear, or lack of faith. Sometimes we wait out of lack of clarity for the mission to which we're called. But whatever the reason, if the fruit stays on the vine too long, the output may not be as perfect.
The closer we are in relationship to the One who formed us, the easier it is to recognize His timing in our lives. Harvesting the fruit is the result of the effort of cultivation. As You are pursuing the path that He's giving you according to your gifts, just like a gardener is intentional to pull weeds from the garden to keep the plants from being choked out, we too must be cognizant to keep the noises weeded out from our daily lives that would try to choke out the things that God wants to cultivate in us.
If there are things that He has been growing in you, showing you your gifts and how to apply them, seek Him and His timing. His timing may not always make sense to us, and the timing of others is not an indicator of our own timing, so stay connected daily through His word and through an open line of conversation. Seek Him and ask Him. He will bring confirmation, and clarity. Make sure you have your life weeded so that those distractions that have no potential for bearing fruit can be removed from your life and your daily activities.
Great satisfaction comes when the fruit of our lives is harvested in its perfect season. Great abundance can be found there, and its sweetest produce will impact the lives of others. The Son said, "My meat is to do the will of my Father". Indeed, when we grow in God, and we are weaned past the basics, the greatest refueling to our souls is not the pouring in from an external source, but the pouring out from us of what He's already given us. It is in this harvest that the greatest satisfaction comes, as we see the fruit, and we are refueled and ready for His continuous refilling.
Don't hold on to those things that are meant to be poured out. If you leave it on the vine past its season, it will go to rot. The next season those seeds may bear new vines, but you will miss the harvest that was intended.
The same is true with the latter fruit - that fruit which comes past the season. Rarely do I buy peaches after the end of July. Sure there are still peaches around for sale, and they look great. Sometimes they even feel perfect to the touch, but when you bite into them, they're often grainy and very dissatisfying.
But that fruit that comes in the season it was meant for, that fruit is delicious and very satisfying. When we think about the fruit of our lives, the same is true. We will all show fruit, some bad fruit, or some good fruit, depending on its source. When we think of the good fruit, we have to understand our seasons. Those seasons are prescribed by our Father - the One who formed us, gave us a unique design with our very own fingerprint.
We are called to use our gifts in different ways. Some of those gifts may be natural gifts based on the design He gave us from conception. Some of those gifts may be special gifts, that He has given us even though they may even be contrary to our natural abilities. But whatever those gifts are that you've been given, the question may be asked as to the fruit they will bear. If we try to push ahead, out of God's timing, we may bear fruit, but it will be sparse, and potentially sour.
If we hold on to those gifts too long, leaving them on the vine past their due season. Sometimes we wait out of fear, or lack of faith. Sometimes we wait out of lack of clarity for the mission to which we're called. But whatever the reason, if the fruit stays on the vine too long, the output may not be as perfect.
The closer we are in relationship to the One who formed us, the easier it is to recognize His timing in our lives. Harvesting the fruit is the result of the effort of cultivation. As You are pursuing the path that He's giving you according to your gifts, just like a gardener is intentional to pull weeds from the garden to keep the plants from being choked out, we too must be cognizant to keep the noises weeded out from our daily lives that would try to choke out the things that God wants to cultivate in us.
If there are things that He has been growing in you, showing you your gifts and how to apply them, seek Him and His timing. His timing may not always make sense to us, and the timing of others is not an indicator of our own timing, so stay connected daily through His word and through an open line of conversation. Seek Him and ask Him. He will bring confirmation, and clarity. Make sure you have your life weeded so that those distractions that have no potential for bearing fruit can be removed from your life and your daily activities.
Great satisfaction comes when the fruit of our lives is harvested in its perfect season. Great abundance can be found there, and its sweetest produce will impact the lives of others. The Son said, "My meat is to do the will of my Father". Indeed, when we grow in God, and we are weaned past the basics, the greatest refueling to our souls is not the pouring in from an external source, but the pouring out from us of what He's already given us. It is in this harvest that the greatest satisfaction comes, as we see the fruit, and we are refueled and ready for His continuous refilling.
Don't hold on to those things that are meant to be poured out. If you leave it on the vine past its season, it will go to rot. The next season those seeds may bear new vines, but you will miss the harvest that was intended.
RSS Feed
