I was given the opportunity recently, to enjoy picking mangos, which were end of season but still amazing 😊
Proverbs 11:30 ‘a good life is
a fruit bearing tree…’
In the process of picking the fruit, I discovered how difficult it is to reach up and grab hold when being as short as I am (plus used muscles I never knew I had – paid for it later) along with some fruit being hard to distinguish from the leaves, so they were well camouflaged!
This fruit picking got me thinking….
If Christ asks us to bear much fruit (John 15:8) then how do we do this well along with assisting those we are on the journey with to help them display their fruit when it's hidden?
Or
Maybe it is more a case of us having the wisdom to spiritually see their fruit and with encouraging words and nurturing, assist them in the ‘pulling down & picking’ that they will then be able to bless others with their ‘spiritual fruit’.
Some years back when I was running programs at church for new Christians, I was asking the Lord for more people to add to our team to pray for those we were ministering to… God led me to ask a lady who at the time was in an accounting position and for me to ask her was totally out of the box for her and she asked me why I had? Well, when God asks you to do something, I have found it is definitely best to do it! She went away to ask the Lord if she should and of course, her prayer journey began… today her prayer life is abundant, and God has stepped her up into far bigger arenas to pray so I am honoured that the Lord helped me be her jumping-off point 😊
Another area of this harvest process that touched my heart was being able to unburden these trees of what remained and that the blessing of this fruit would not go to waste – in the book of Ruth 2:2 Ruth asks if she may ‘glean ears of grain from the leftover in Boaz field’ for her and her mother-in-law to have something to eat. Boaz of course encourages her to stay within his field and we know that their relationship becomes part of King David’s lineage.
In giving away from the abundance God blesses us with we, in turn, can be an even greater blessing to others! After our exhausting day in the orchard, my husband and I were able to give away all the fruit we obtained from our picking endeavors to many friends, family, and work colleagues. GOD is GOOD!
I continually pray for the Lord to use me in ways to share my story so others may be blessed in the process. What are you able to give out from your abundance today, to share with others? When you discover what that is, then can I encourage you to pray a blessing upon it before you hand it over and see what God will do!!