Are You Fruitful?

Have you wished that EVERYTHING you do be ALWAYS fruitful?

Well, of course, yes!

But, you may think “The exact opposite is what’s exactly happening… and it is sad…”

Psalm 1 is good source of encouragement and enlightenment when it comes to being fruitful.

Quoting:

1 Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Err.. Where’s being fruitful there? I just see a man who does not stand in the way of the sinners, a tree by a riverside, and a chaff blown away!

Where’s the “Do this.. and do that.. Don’t do this.. and don’t do that…” in order to be fruitful?

Hmm.. then you might have missed the point.

I would like to ask you? When would a tree bear its fruit?

The answer – in its season, right?

Then when and how could I be fruitful?

The answer – in season, and by your reactions, respectively.

I once prayed, “Lord, please give me patience right now!” And you know what, God answered by giving me a very hard and challenging situation.

I once prayed, “Lord, please grant me goodness and kindness..” And God answered by letting me encounter anEGR person (Extra-Grace Required) – a person that could irritate you very easily.

I once prayed, “Lord, please give me more faith…” And, there you go – simultaneous trials and hardships.

Just come to think of it:

• How could you know patience, if you were not challenged to the maximum level?

• How could you know kindness, if you haven’t encountered an irritating person to use the kindness for?

• How could you have more faith, if all you experience is comfort – of which is the time the natural human tendency is not to rely on God anymore since everything “seems” running just fine…

Notice the tree on the passage:

“…like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.”

Extreme heat might come, but the tree will nevertheless stand still because its roots are well-grounded along a stream of water. Since water is abundant, nutrients still circulates throughout its body and into its leaves making it a healthy and a very alive creature.

How could one be like that tree?

Let’s look at the first few verses:

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Turn away from evil things and delight yourself in the Lord, and in His Word!

Are you wondering why still you are not fruitful in the things that you do?

Perhaps, you are still expecting to get the “nourishment” from a wrong source!

© 2010 Erickson Ibana