Apr
23
Preparing
Filed Under Devotional
Watching corn grow or paint dry is not an exciting pastime. People enjoy the results of these things, but the process itself is pretty bland. The same goes for people. Watching people mature is not a spectator sport. But, the results can be dramatic.
Moses was forty years old when he had to leave Egypt after killing an Egyptian. How long did God work on him before He was ready to use Moses again?
“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.” Acts 7:30
In five words, the speaker (Stephen) jumps forty years until Moses is eighty years old. In the movies, it would be a black screen with the words “40 years later”. We skip over it because it’s boring to watch people grow and mature. In some movies, you get a series of clips with background music that shows us a condensed version of how the person changed over the years. Still, we watch years or decades of changes in seconds.
We’d rather skip to the end to see the dramatic change, but that skips over the very process that enabled the amazing change we see. It’s that time of standing in the desert chasing sheep that trained Moses. It’s what prepared him for what God had planned.
We have a rhododendron in our back yard that did not bloom for first three years. Now, it blooms more than once a summer. It took some time for the plant to be ready to bloom. But, now it blooms dependably.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Does Jesus say “immediately”? No. He says “remain”. We must remain in Him. We must allow ourselves to be nourished by Him. We must allow ourselves to grow. Then we will bear much fruit.
Some people bear fruit right away. Others need a long time on the vine. In both cases, the blooms or the fruit will still happen.
Don’t hate the waiting. Don’t get frustrated with the maturing. He’s just preparing you.