“Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19
Where is our seed? Are we guarding it close to our hearts, afraid to spread it about because of fear that the enemy or stranger will come and devour it? Are we too cautious with the seed that God has given us? Where is God telling us to freely sow the seed He has given us?
If we never plant the seeds or do so sparingly, how will we ever see the fruit? We have all heard the saying, “You reap what you sow.” Alternatively, many of us have sown seeds and have yet to see anything come of it. Hang onto hope. There is much going on beneath the surface and God is still at work in those places waiting for the perfect and appropriate time for them to breakthrough the ground and see the light.
And where some of us see that the plant has sprouted but no there is still no fruit, it will come at the right time. A vineyard takes about 3 years to produce its first grapes. “The f
ig tree” can take 4-5 years to grow to enough maturity to begin bearing fruit the first time. “The pomegranate” takes 3-5 years to bear fruit and each pomegranate has 613 seeds! “The olive tree” takes about 4 years for olives to be ripe and can live for up to 500 years. Interestingly enough, olive trees are also known to have re-grown even after having been chopped down.
Some seeds sprout and bear fruit immediately and some take many years before seeing its first fruit. Regardless, God is uniquely at work in each situation and many times deeply below the surface. And where storms or pestilence or locusts or other things may have stolen or attempted to destroy the fruit God wants to bring, I thank God that He says, “But from this day I will bless you.”
“For the seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
The ground shall give her increase
And the heavens shall give their dew-I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these.” Zechariah 8:12
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit in the field,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:11
God is our protector. He will guard the seeds that we have thrown out and He will protect our land.
The Lord has been working below the surface for many years and is going to begin to break through the hard ground as a promise of the seed and as a sign of fruit to come. I pray that the Lord encourages us to continue to cultivate the ground where we have planted seeds and water them with His Spirit. And I pray “From this day” will You bless us, multiply the seed we have sown into Your kingdom, cause increase and release fruits that You have promised. And let it all be for Your glory. Amen.
