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He is the God who knows your every need even before a word springs forth from your mouth. And may you hear His voice minister to you, and His Name be glorified, as we continue to meditate upon His promise May the Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of your life. [Psalms 128:5,6] A scriptural picture of the blessing of God, is a godly growth, the foundation of which is the pure spiritual milk of His word, when you long or crave for it. [1 Peter 2:2] It results in divine desires being birthed in you. And in prayer, His word and His promises become your personal experience. To the Christian, prayer is talking to God, an expression of his covenant relationship with Him, as His child, by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is why every point of anxiety in your life, needs to become your point of prayer for it to be effective and fruitful, flooding your heart and soul with peace, in the knowledge that He is your present help in trouble.
And then you will move forward in accomplishing the things of God, to excel even more, to abound and flourish, and achieve excellence in what God has called you for, even as Paul encourages the church at Thessalonica. Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as, in fact, you are now doing. And we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. [1 Thessalonians 4:1] To progress and grow in godly maturity into the full stature of Christ, to be more and more conformed to His image and likeness is what God desires to be the godly growth in you.
It is a progress that needs to be visibly seen. And He never bids you to accomplish something, without showing you the way and being with you as your ever-present Helper. It is seen in the words of Paul exhorting and guiding his son in the faith, Timothy, that speaks afresh to you and me that the pilgrims’ progress can be seen visibly, showing a godly growth. The principles involved are
It points you to developing the quality of faithfulness, a stickability, to remain where God wants you to be, for God wants your progress to become evident. Therefore, He will plant you in a place where you can grow. You are truly blessed only when you are in the place that God wants you to be and remain there to be a blessing to others. Take pains; be fully absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all. [1 Timothy 4:15] [NASB] It is the tree that is planted by the waters that in its season, yields its fruit. And it goes on to reveal the principle, that there could be seasons in your life when remaining planted could be what you are called to do, seemingly not productive so that you can bear fruit when the right season comes. For, He who planted you will make you fruitful.
A world that is preoccupied with social media though, may give importance to glamour and glitz, as seen in the increasing outward splendor of wedding festivities. But what counts ultimately in a marriage is being faithful and committed, unto God and unto each other, remaining planted, fulfilling God’s vision and purpose, and bringing glory to His Name. For glamour will fade, and reality will soon set in, when happily ever after, will be happily ‘even after’! And not just being planted, but where you are planted also matters when it comes to godly growth, in order to be fruitful, no matter how old you are. Your roots must be in the right place. For,
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon. [Psalms 92:12] The righteous is the one who is rightly related to God, in sonship, by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. And how does he flourish? Planted in the house of God, they flourish in the courts of our God. [Verse 13] And their age becomes superfluous, merely a number. For, they still bear fruit in old age; They will stay fresh and green, Proclaiming ‘The Lord is upright; He is my Rock; and there is no wickedness in Him. [Verse 14,15] To be dependent on Him, instead of trusting in your own strength, or being resigned to thinking that you are no longer useful is what can keep you green, and full of sap. Even as a senior citizen, having been born again by the incorruptible word of God, one can make a tremendous investment in the lives of young people, and be the wise head on young shoulders. And as the psalmist repeatedly expresses his desire is, to dwell in the house of God all the days of your life, being a part of a live corporate worship, is an integral part of being planted in the house of God, towards progress that is visibly seen in you. [Psalms 23:6, 27:4]
Evildoers may rise up against you, tempting you to move away, but the counsel of God is to remain planted and move on to see visible progress. It is in letting go of frustration and anger to Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. [Psalms 37:3] Difficult indeed, but He will give you the strength to do it. Therefore, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as unto the Lord, and not unto men. [Colossians 3:23] And as the psalmist goes on to say refrain from anger, and turn from wrath, do not fret – it leads only to evil. [Psalms 37:8] Therefore
He will empower you, and more than that, He will make whatever is holding you back, and unable to progress, let go of you also. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free, a freedom to be fruitful. He will make you observe what you need to observe, absorb the truth embedded in it, and make you bear fruit so that He may be glorified. And in times of challenge, He will strengthen you with His very presence upholding you, to take you by His grace from a place of worry to fruitfulness. Therefore may we pray Father, We thank thee for thy word of grace that promises good to us, in the knowledge that we are never on our own. For You are the One who has planted us and is our ever-present Helper, understanding our emotions, and strengthening us so that our progress may be visibly seen, made evident, in the coming days, that Your Name may be glorified. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
