By Lisa Powell
I must admit I have never thought of my season of singleness as a fruit-producing tree, that is until I read my devotional this morning. The focus of the devotional passage was to encourage Christians not to tire of waiting on your fruit-producing season.
Before a fruit-producing tree reaches a time in its growth when it blossoms and bears fruit, first it must send its roots down deep into the earth where it can draw on a constant source of nourishment. During the life of that tree, it must endure the elements of every season – the heat, the cold, the sleet, the rain and the snow before it ever blossoms. Because those roots are deeply tapped into a continuous source of strength, nourishment and energy, the tree is able to outlast all the seasons and eventually become a fruit-producing tree.
Now here is the encouraging part…The bigger the tree, the greater the need for that tree send its roots down deep in order to give a strong footing against the elements of the different seasons. So rather than complain that it’s taking too long for your tree to produce fruit, take this time to thank God for the opportunity to send your roots down deep in preparation for all that He has in store for you.
- excerpt from Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner
As I read through this devotional I was encouraged by the fact that God has not given me success too quickly. I can recall planning to marry my college sweetheart but looking back now I realize I was not ready for marriage, so I shudder to think what would have happened had I achieved what many would call success (i.e. marriage) too quickly. No doubt my roots at that point would not have been able to withstand very much. I am thankful that God has used this season of singleness to renew my mind, increase my discipline in many areas, teach me what a marriage covenant is really all about, helped me to become less self-centered and most of all drawn me closer to Him (just to name a few).
I’m not sure how much deeper my roots need to go for whatever lies ahead of me but no doubt I am much more capable of handling the responsibilities of being a wife than I was when I so desperately wanted to be one. Thanks be to God for loving me enough to mature me to a point where I can handle the blessings He has in store for me.
No, I don’t want success too quickly, I want it when I’m mature enough to handle it, hold on to it and thrive in it! I want to be deeply rooted in Him so that the storms of life will not move me from the place where He has planted me.
“Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:7
What success are you grateful you didn’t receive too quickly?
About the Author
Lisa is the creator of www.the-christian-single-woman.com, a website dedicated to helping Christian single women lead fulfilling and whole lives during their season of singleness. Though singleness is not a desired state for most, she is a firm believer that it should not be a season of depression. As a Christian single who has endured many ups and downs in singleness, her heart’s desire is to be a voice of encouragement for Christian single women to remind them they are not alone, they have not been forgotten and most of all that they are loved by Christ.
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Kiesha holds a Master of Arts in English, is a writing instructor and blog consultant.
Beautiful article. It is so important to have faith and realize that God has a plan. It may not happen at the speed in which we like but non the less he is there guideing us and making us stronger. Great anology with the roots.
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How beautiful, very true that instead of complaining for what your asking for, thank God instead. Only God knows what will happen in the future. Thanks for sharing this lovely article, it inspired me and taught me a valuable lesson and that is patience.
.-= Poker´s last blog ..BLANCA GAMES ACQUIRES CEREUS NETWORK =-.
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May we all value the time required for our roots to extend down deep to draw upon a constant source of nourishment from the Father.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Managing Expectations in Marriage Interview with Brenda McClendon =-.
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Sometimes we will able to realize that God has basically plans for us and we can able to meet challenges while crossing the roads we have chosen. I believe that God has truly created those challenges in order to test our strength and if how deep we can hold and have faith to Him. It will basically determined how strong are we in facing those problems. Your analogy is really great it really gives an inspiration to live and be thankful to God.
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