Scattered plant thoughts.

Today has been a plant-filled day. Well, sort of. During the sermon today, Pastor Dave brought up one of the illustrations that Jesus used to talk about life with Him and what it is like. He spoke of a vine and how we are the branches. Pastor Dave switched it a bit to remind us that we are really like electrical appliances and that, if they had been around then, Jesus might have spoken about them instead of a vine. I personally think that the vine works all right because it’s a natural object and natural objects can be a lot easier to understand by a broader audience than an electrical appliance, but whatever. J

Point…and I did have one. So, Pastor Dave was talking about the passage in John 15:1-11 the whole “I am the vine, you are the branches…” thing. In her study, Becoming a Woman of Excellence, Cynthia Heald uses those same verses. She uses them to focus on abiding and what that term means. Basically, to abide means to spend time with or in. The point she makes is that, if Jesus is indeed a vine and we are branches, we can’t grow unless we are attached to Him (verse 1-4 focus on that in particular). Pastor Dave made a more modern version of the same point by saying that we are like electrical appliances and if we aren’t plugged into the right power source, we won’t be able to function properly (he even used this analogy for a sermon series that also became the theme for the children’s VBS thing we did a few years ago).

The thing about being a branch attached to anything, though, is that it takes time to grow. I mean, you don’t just plant a seed and suddenly it becomes a branch. You can’t even plant a branch in the ground and expect it to become a tree/vine. Doesn’t work that way. It takes time, nourishment, sunlight, etc…. So, wouldn’t you think that it would also take time for us to grow, too?


In the Old Testament book Habakkuk, the prophet Habakkuk is complaining about how long he has been sitting around, watching the wicked seemingly win time after time and how tired he is of it. He asks God essentially “HEY! Are you doing anything up there? What’s going on? In case You were wondering, they’re still being naughty down here and I, for one, am tired of letting them get away with it. You might want to start doing something about it…soon!” God’s reply is simply this:

“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that the herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
--Habakkuk 2:2-3

He says that the timing isn’t right yet. Things may not seem to be happening right now, but something is going to happen and Habakkuk just needs to be patient.

God does not open paths for us before we come to them, or provide help before help is needed. He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are at our point of need, God’s hand is outstretched.

Many people forget this truth and continually worry about difficulties they envision in the future. They expect God to open and clear many miles of road before them, but He promises to do it step by step, only as their need arises.
--From Streams in the Desert Jan. 6 devotional

This suggests that God’s timing in difficult circumstances isn’t what we would necessarily term “convenient.” But, when are difficult circumstances ever “convenient”? I think that this devotional can also lend itself to being short-sighted in that it seems that God only clears the path that is immediately before us. What we don’t realize is that, in reality, God does see farther down the path and chooses to wait to clear the path until we are ready and have come to that point.

He sets things in motion long before the problem arises in our lives and times it so that the problem is gone through and He solves it at the precise moment we need His help.

It’s kind of like when you set out to cook a meal and you try to prepare several parts of the meal, each one began and ended so that all of them are finished and ready at the same time. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon all prepared and ready to be served in much the same way that we go through life. We have a problem like having lost our job, and later we are presented with a new job, only to find out that in order for us to have this new job there were connections made in our past. Not only that, but the timing of the opening we then fill is served to us on a platter at the same precise moment we need it.

What does this have to do with the earlier analogy of the vine and the branches? Good question. J We are all in the process of growing somehow. We are all changing in different ways, whether for better or worse is sometimes hard to see. If we are attached to the “true vine” (Jesus…see John 15:1) it is ultimately for our better.

The discouraging thing is when we find ourselves attached to the vine and we don’t appear to be producing any fruit.

Ah, my friends…fruit, like any other part of the growing process (going from seed to baby plant to branch) is something that takes time. And the interesting thing about fruit is that most (I’d dare to say all, even) plants do not bear fruit constantly, all throughout the year. They bear them at certain times of the year and the remainder of the time simply store up the energy and the strength to produce fruit again in the right season.

Look at Psalm 1:1-3
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.
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.
--Psalm 1:1-3

This passage says that if we meditate, that is, choose to spend time with God, we will become like a tree that is planted by water. We’ll get filled with all of the nutrients and water we need in order to grow strong and healthy. But catch this: we will also give out fruit at the right time… “In season.”

My friend, if you are going through a time of discouragement because you don’t see the results of the work that you’re doing for and with the Lord, you needn’t be so discouraged. You may just be in the stage of creating your fruit and it’ll make itself seen at the right time.

Something else to consider: fruit is meant to be shared and spread around. It’s not meant to be left on the plant. It’s so cool to realize that one of the reasons we bear fruit is to see it ourselves, but the other reason is to share it with others. In nature, trees bear fruit in order to attract animals that will carry the fruit around and leave the seeds elsewhere in hopes of generating more of the same type of plant. Just think, your fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc…are all meant to be shared and taken in by others so that they can in turn grow them.

Neat, huh?

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends, with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
--II Peter 3:8-9