30 Before 30: What Fruit Do You Want To See Born In Your Life

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:11-12

This morning in catching up on my devotions I got a revelation about seeds.  Strangely enough, God has been having me say these things at separate points but this morning the puzzle pieces fell into place.  I pray this blesses you and you begin to approach attacking your problems differently.  

Everybody is familiar with seeds.  Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, every type of bean, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and acorns are all seeds.  Your favorite fruits contain seeds --  apples, bananas (well organic ones), grapes (some, most would but for breeding them to not have seeds), watermelon...all have seeds.  

Everybody should also know that seeds are products of the plant or tree that bears them and that those seeds could potentially produce the same plant, hence verses 11 and 12 above.  Today though, God put the pieces together and showed me why we need to be conscious of the words we speak and to monitor the thoughts we think, and specifically why scripture should be our foundation -- because the more Word we sow into the soils of our heart and mind, the more fruit of those scriptures will be born in our lives.

1 Peter 1 tells us that the word of God is imperishable, meaning that it does not die, it has no expiration date, it endures forever.  So when we pray the word of God over our lives and our situations, there is no expiration date for that word, it keeps living and keeps producing, just like perennial plants come back every year.  Since we are praying in agreement with God's word, as long as we believe and keep planting that word in our hearts, we will see the fruit of it born in our lives.  I was amazed to read of the watermelon seed's ability to take on 200,000 times its own size in water to ultimately produce a single watermelon.  I was further amazed to read the seed of a Giant Sequoia tree has the ability to produce 400,000 seeds in its lifetime as a tree.  But the key here is that these things have a set life span.  That watermelon seed, from the time it reaches maturity to it gets to your house, its days are numbered.  That Sequoia tree, its life span is many hundreds, even thousands of years.  But the word of God has no expiration date.  That same scripture you stand on will continue to produce fruit in your life.

One of the scriptures I often recite is Isaiah 55:11.  The promise in it is what keeps me confessing other scriptures:

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.  (NASB)

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. (NLT)

This scripture affirms that God's word cannot go back to Him without bearing fruit.  It cannot come back to Him empty or barren.  It will prosper everywhere He sends it and it will accomplish what He desires and succeed in His intended purpose.  So those healing scriptures you confess, you will be healed if YOU believe.  So those scriptures you stand on for guidance and direction, God is faithful to guide you.  I began confessing Mark 11:22-24 and Isaiah 54:17 regularly and I see many obstacles that once used to intimidate me have gone away. Every time I do a prayer challenge or when God drops something in my spirit, I find scriptures to align with what I'm seeking God about and I pray daily, sometimes multiple times in faith to see it manifest.  I trust and rest in knowing that after that season of prayer is done, it is done and I keep thanking God for it.  I see how situations have gotten in alignment because I trusted God and His supremacy and I held fast to what His word says. Nothing is more powerful than God and when you pray God's word over your situation, believing it to be true, it will manifest: the seeds will rise up and bear fruit.

I would be remiss if I didn't address the germination period.  Every seed has a germination period...the time before it takes root.  It is that period that seems like dormancy to us while the seed is breaking forth under ground.  Some people could be pioneers of faith and it take years for them to see that seed manifest.  Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac, Joseph waited 17 years, during which he was sold into slavery by his own brothers and served jail time for a crime he did not commit, for his dreams to manifest, and Hannah had to wait while enduring harassment and belittling by her sister wife for her son Samuel. I had to wait for my healing of my kidney problems via a transplant that happened almost 4 years after I began to pray for my healing.  I had to wait for 4 years after I should have been promoted, move to New Orleans and back and switch jobs to get the raise I was promised.  I had to wait and stand in faith on prayers for my friends and family, and I am having to wait now for other things.  There have definitely been disappointments along the way, but I hold fast to God's word and I know those things will happen.  I know the fruit of the things I am praying for will show up!

So I understand now why God has the authors of the various books of the bible to use farmers.  Planting, sowing, watering, and reaping takes time.  So I say this to reiterate to you that you saying scriptures once will not cut it and neither will praying about it once either.  The bible tells us countless times to pray without ceasing.  It took time for your mind -- the thoughts you believe, your belief systems, mindsets and strongholds -- to get where it is and it takes time for a tree to bear fruit.  But the beauty lies in knowing that God gives the increase and the word must do its work and produce fruit.  

What fruit do you want to see born in your life?  A deeper relationship with God?  A deeper understanding?  Knowing God's will and purposes for your life?  Wisdom? Favor? Deliverance? Healing - whether it be physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual? Restoration? Guidance? Direction and clarity?  Financial guidance -- I say guidance because God will guide you and tell you what you need to do, it is up to you to be obedient.  A spouse or children?  Plant the word in your heart and minds but do not forget to uproot the lies that may be keeping you from what God has for you and seek to develop a relationship with God first because God isn't a puppet or magician.  He doesn't acquiesce to your whims and concede to your demands like a genie.  Knowing God and seeking His will helps to prevent some of those disappointments we face.

I hope this helps you to look at the Word differently.  Start planting!

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  Numbers 23:19

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35