TOPIC: Pruned for Harvest
FOCUS: “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God…” (Psalm 52: 8)
Streams of Joy Daily Devotional 25 September 2021 Message:
One reason why agriculturists prune an olive tree is to shape the tree for easier harvest. Because of fruits from the olive, a farmer would rather have it stay within reach, just to make sure that the fruits are easily accessed. Pruning makes the olive tree to remain shorter than it should be, but it doesn’t stop the fruits from coming. Pruning shortens the olive tree, but makes it easier for the farmer/owner to get the desired results.
Friend, God may not allow you to grow beyond some boundaries because of the harvest He desires from you. For the sake of the harvest that your life must produce, some heights may not be open to you though they be desirable. When God calls you an olive tree, He infers that heights you will attain in life will be subject to His convenience and will, not yours. God may control your growth for the sake of your harvest.
God may deliberately take some heights away from you in the interim, just to make you more useful. God may decline to grant you certain open doors, because He wants to preserve your productivity. God may say no to some desires of your heart, for the sake of maintaining your harvest. You may not like the sound of this, but God may close some doors you wish to see opened, for the sake of the harvest He destined you to yield.
Every tree grows for the pleasure of the owner; if you are the planting of the Lord, then be intentional to live within the boundaries of God’s pleasure. If it will offend God, leave it; if it will dislocate you from the plan of God for your life, be careful to leave it. The fact that an olive tree has been pruned makes it more productive, NOT less productive. Your harvest may mean nothing to God if it comes outside of the boundaries He set for you.
Don’t let your desire to grow become more important than the results that God wants from you. Ask God to keep you within His reach. Ask Him to shape you for easier harvest.
John 15: 2 says: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
DECLARATION: I grow within the boundaries of God will for my life, in Jesus’ name!
Streams of Joy Daily Devotional 25 September 2021 Message by Pastor Jerry Eze; is the dynamic Founder and President of the fast-growing Streams of Joy International. A seasoned Pastor and leader, a consummate conference speaker and leadership coach. The work of ministry have taken him to major platforms around the world
