Truly Knowing God’s Grace (Pt. 4)
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-11 states will be displayed in your life.
Firstly, you will bear fruit in every good work. When I was a child, my family lived on an apple orchard for many years. Those trees never lifted a finger to produce all the tons of apples that came off those them. However, my father worked hard: pruning, watering, protecting and picking. And so it is with our lives! This very analogy is used in John 15. We see that the Father is the gardener of our lives and he knows exactly what we need to produce the best fruit.
One thing we need to recognise is the times and seasons of our lives. With the apple trees the winter season didn’t look pretty, just dead. There will be times in our lives when the Father is at work in you even though you feel dead. For He knows what is coming and what you is necessary to bring about the fruit for the next good work.
When you are in a winter season it is important to stay plugged into the Lord. Keep your roots covered in Him or you’ll not survive. I remember being in such a season and the last thing I wanted to do was go to church. However we went. I remember Jim and I taking long walks and praying. Everything felt dark and hard but then “suddenly” the Spirit of God hit me. And I truly felt like I was born again, again. Song of Songs says, “the winter is past, the spring has come”. It was a “suddenly” but I still had to live through the darkness.
God is at work in you because His desire is for you to be His planting and a display of His splendour. If you find yourself in a winter season rest in the fact that it is for a “time” and spring will come.
Firstly, you will bear fruit in every good work. When I was a child, my family lived on an apple orchard for many years. Those trees never lifted a finger to produce all the tons of apples that came off those them. However, my father worked hard: pruning, watering, protecting and picking. And so it is with our lives! This very analogy is used in John 15. We see that the Father is the gardener of our lives and he knows exactly what we need to produce the best fruit.
One thing we need to recognise is the times and seasons of our lives. With the apple trees the winter season didn’t look pretty, just dead. There will be times in our lives when the Father is at work in you even though you feel dead. For He knows what is coming and what you is necessary to bring about the fruit for the next good work.
When you are in a winter season it is important to stay plugged into the Lord. Keep your roots covered in Him or you’ll not survive. I remember being in such a season and the last thing I wanted to do was go to church. However we went. I remember Jim and I taking long walks and praying. Everything felt dark and hard but then “suddenly” the Spirit of God hit me. And I truly felt like I was born again, again. Song of Songs says, “the winter is past, the spring has come”. It was a “suddenly” but I still had to live through the darkness.
God is at work in you because His desire is for you to be His planting and a display of His splendour. If you find yourself in a winter season rest in the fact that it is for a “time” and spring will come.
