Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
As I write this devotional about planting seed, it's interesting since my name (George) means "farmer" or "worker of the earth".
What does a farmer do? If he or she is a good farmer, he works hard at preparing the ground for the sowing of seed. Each year, he waits in expectation for a harvest. Hopefully he toiled the ground well and the seed sank deep into the rich soil. Hopefully his watering was consistent and the seed will grow and bear large delicious fruit. But really, he can't know for sure until many months later when it's time for the harvest.
Perhaps you know that one of the trees for which Israel is best known is the olive tree. It doesn't take months, it takes YEARS for an olive tree to develop fruit! Hmmm. Who wants to plant a tree that doesn't bear fruit for many years? But guess what, once it starts bearing fruit it can keep producing on it's own for dozens of years! That was an encouraging word to us personally.
But we are all called to be farmers -- to bring in God's great harvest! What we often lack is the patience to wait to see fruit! We want those seeds to sprout right now and we lose heart when we don't see instant results.
The Lord promises that His Word will not be sent in vain, but will accomplish what He pleases and shall prosper where He sends it! Our job is to be faithful and patient! Let's not get discouraged when we don't see our seed producing. It will bring forth fruit in His timing! Be patient! Keep planting! And expect a bountiful harvest!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]F.B. Meyer once said, “The education of our faith is incomplete [till] we learn that God’s providence works through loss…that there’s a ministry to us through the failure and fading of things. The dwindling brook where Elijah sat is a picture of our lives.
Most people reading this passage tend to focus in on the fruit that is produced. Okay…But a closer look will reveal that the Lord is really focusing on the tree. The fruit merely demonstrates the quality of the tree. We have all encountered this: there are trees whose fruit is healthy and delicious, and there are trees whose fruit is scarcely edible, or even useless.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on in every person. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’. One is evil — it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good…
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Early in the last century, sculptor Gutzon Borglum gazed at the cliffs of South Dakota’s Black Hills. As any great artist would, He saw what no one else could the sculpted faces of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. After 14 years, he finally completed his project — Mount Rushmore.
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