In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
-John 1.1
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
-Matthew 24.35
Has God given you a promise, a vision, a dream, or a goal? Has He simply left you with the impression that He will do something new? Has He not told you what it will look like? Has He left out a lot of the details?
[monotonously gives a 'yes' to each TV-infomercial-like question]
[and seriously, if you didn't say yes to any of the above..... we need to talk.]
Anything the LORD promises, regardless of the time it takes on human terms, will come to pass. That is an unwavering truth.
And yet, there are those situations they don't come to pass - and it's not because God is a liar. In some cases, a prophetic word could be wrong (which then reveals the importance of checking up with God instead of assimilating everything the wo/man of God says). In other cases, we may have confined the promise to the English definitions of the English words we hear. Let me illustrate: say you've latched onto a particular interest, and you feel God began to release strategies to further this interest. But in time, you begin to find that you don't have the same passion for that dream, and that your heart desires something else. Isn't it easy, at that point, to wonder, "Did I really hear the voice of God telling me to step into this?" And we go into a frenzy, adjusting our rabbit-ear antennas, assuming the reception must have been way off.
But in truth, it's nothing more than an invitation to know more of His heart. So you have a different dream now? At least you were faithful with what He gave you in that season! So that word didn't come to pass? At least you have a marking point, a discernment, of what His voice does and does not sound like!
At least, you learn to trust. You learn what it's like to depend on One you cannot see. You learn to be obedient to His rhema word. It's about practicing the presence of God - testing Him, trying Him, knowing Him, loving Him, and definitely listening to Him. Continuously. At least, you keep yourself in a position to expect God to move according to His word. And He honors that.
As a person who doesn't garden as often as my parents, I can honestly say that it's definitely not a skill of mine to look at any seed and instantly identify what kind of plant it will turn out to be. And my knowledge is still very limited, seeing a tree and knowing what type it is.
Usually, I just wait for the fruit.
I've mentioned how 09 has been prophesied to be the year of the womb. And there are a great number of people who feel the confirmation in their spirits that truly, God is going to birth something absolutely tremendous. And yet, so few of us have an idea of what it's going to be, what it will look like, how is it all going to happen... Some of us still wonder if anything's even there.
Basically, we're just waiting for the fruit.
Oh sure, there are those trees which I can name because of familiarity with their shape or leaves, like the clustered, overbearing mango tree with its seasonal red leaves, or the skinny heights of the malunggay tree. In the same way, sometimes we have a general idea of what God will do based on the tested, tried, and true signs that He gives us. Key word: sometimes. In the end, the tree will be defined by its fruit.
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.
-Luke 6.43-45
I really feel that even though we have no idea what this 'fruit' will be, we can hang onto the confidence that 'storing goodness in our hearts' is like water for the seed. It's not a time to spoil the fruit by harboring any 'evil' in our hearts - not bitterness, not laziness, not impatience, not complacency, not arrogance, not surrender!
A word was spoken over me in August:
Even though you cannot see the fruit, don't uproot just yet.
Just because we aren't seeing results, it doesn't mean nothing is happening beneath the surface. Just because you cannot see the fruit, it doesn't mean God is not at work. Just because we are experiencing the 'birthing pains,' it's not a time to abort the baby!
In due time it will come forth - and we should not worry what it will look like. For if it is from God, if it is bred from the pure intimacy that came from a covenant relationship with Him, then you can be assured that it will be a legitimate child, bearing the image of God, having the authority of the Kingdom, and carrying His holy name!
And surely, all of Heaven rejoices!
xo
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