The Journey
We have a pear tree in our yard and last year our littles loved being able to go explore outside and pick pears from that tree. I have a little white step ladder out by the tree and it’s such a treasure to watch them climb up and select their special pear….or two….or three.
This year, that tree is bursting with baby pears! So many, it’s already weighing down the branches. I can’t imagine what it will look like when they ripen and are ready to harvest.
Time is a crazy thing… it doesn’t pause or take a time out for nothing. It just keeps going.
When I get in my car in the morning to go to work, my watch alerts me how long it will take to get there. It maps out my journey and gives me the precise arrival time. Isn’t technology amazing? Wouldn’t it be nice if all our life’s journeys were so easily mapped out and navigated to the finest detail? Amen? But, if it were so, what would faith be for?
According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.
There are countless scriptures concerning faith; from the beginning of time, that’s what life has always been about.
This life’s journey, accomplishing our purpose which we were placed here on this earth to accomplish. But it’s not mapped out for us in detail.
Journey. Merriam-Webster’s definition is an act or instance of traveling from one place to another.
Life is just that.
Traveling from one place to another and another and another.
In a tight little nutshell…We are all here to keep each other going.
Life has its good, and it’s really good most of the time. but it also has its bad and can be really bad.
The good news is we have His never failing promises to stand firm on.
Exodus 33:14 says in the Message version:
“God said, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.”
His promises…His word.
Thy word is the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path. Psalm 119:105
We will all face problems and challenges but the outcome depends on our faith.
2 Peter 1-8 says;
“According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”
Now verse 8 in the new living translation says:
“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That sounds to me like a little instruction on how to acquire a bountiful harvest.
I believe the abundance of baby pears on our well-loved tree is evidence of the bountiful harvest coming.
So, when we give all diligence to the following: we can add to our faith;
Virtue
Knowledge
Self-control
Perseverance
Godliness
Brotherly kindness
Love.
Psalm 3:4 says “I sought the Lord and He answered me.
Romans 10:17 says “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
So let us hear the word today, let our faith be strengthened.
And I know that faith turns a promise into a prophecy.
Study each detail diligently.
Get each point woven into our being, written on our hearts and seek out practical ways to apply each one to our daily journey.
We are getting our roots planted deep.
Deep roots yield healthy trees and healthy trees produce bountiful harvests.
Partakers of divine nature… These are the characteristics of God's nature that become my own through His Holy Spirit at work in me!
His character becomes my character. His thoughts become my thoughts, His ways become my ways. His purpose becomes my purpose.
Our life becomes beautiful when we set God’s purposes ahead and above our self-desires. Our love for the Father outgrows our love for this world.
We journey through this life and the point of it all is to love.
Love like Jesus.
Let’s seek to know Him more.
