Your 24/7 Companion – Day 7
In Him, Out of You … Fruit
Bible text(s)
The flower of the orchid has to be attached to the mother plant, because the life sap and (little) water it needs to survive keeps it flowering. The flower gives people pleasure.
The same principle applies to the believer. We have to abide in Christ to bear fruit, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
What kind of fruit is under discussion here? The kind that flows from a relationship with the Lord. Listen to what Psalm 84:5-7 says, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (a barren valley) they make it spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength.”
At one time or another, all of us experience “barren valleys” in our lives. It is in these times that you feel no one cares for you, that nothing you undertake is a success, that there is no escape from your circumstances and that even God has forsaken you. Elijah felt this kind of despair so intensely that he wished to die and even prayed that it might happen (1 Kings 19:4). Fortunately, God always knows best and sees further than the present, so he sent an angel and food to strengthen Elijah. The result? He was strengthened, went to meet God at the place where He was waiting for Him and got the assignment to anoint three new leaders (1 Kings 19:15-17).
In your “barren valley”, you have to take a rational decision to strengthen yourself in the Lord. Draw power from what you know about him: that he is in you, with you, and wants to teach and strengthen you. He wants his power to flow through you and thus, enable you to rise to the occasion and enjoy the place of springs and early autumn rains that await you. If you can own this truth and come across people who experience their own barren valley, your involvement might be instrumental in also filling their land with water, sharing the Lord’s blessings with them and going from strength to strength too. Your barren valley enables you to become fruitful!
The condition? As a branch, stay implanted in the vine because without Him you can do nothing.
