The Christian life is about becoming like Christ in every way. He promises us that if we surrender our will He will make us fruitful in His image.
Jesus began His ministry with a promise of fruitfulness when He read Isaiah 61 in the temple in front of the priests, elders, and other people. It was a prophetic declaration of who He was and how God would make Him fruitful in the Kingdom. As Jesus followers, it provides understanding for each of us.
Isaiah 61: 1-3
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
It’s not uncommon for believers to also receive a prophetic word of promise for their lives. This ‘word’ or ‘revelation’ of promise can come in many ways, but it almost always entails some form of ‘big-picture’ purpose or accomplishment. If you don’t have a specific “word” of promise for your life, we can safely ask for one and/or assume Jesus’ promise of fruitfulness above.
After the prophetic declaration or promise of what the Spirit of God is going to do, He begins to make it happen. Jesus was baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit and was then led into the wilderness. He fasted for the entire time in the desert (40 days) and was tempted/tested 3 times by the devil. Interestingly, the three tests directly correlate to the challenges the Children of Israel encountered in the wilderness.
A desert is dry and without water. Water is symbolic of the presence of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing in the desert . There are no people there nor is there any reason to go there. Deserts are places of need. We may feel in the desert that God is far away and His vision and promises for our lives are only a vague mirage on the distant horizon. It’s easy to forget the promise that God made to us. He told the Children of Israel to write down and remember what He had done for them and what He had promised them, so they would not forget.
The worry and cares of the world can overtake us and cause us to set aside our call to ‘become’. The desert can confuse us and leave us wondering – What’s going on? Why has God left me? We may also wonder if He’s ever really going to deliver on His promise or was that ‘word’ just our mind playing tricks? We may forget about our promise completely, and feel only disappointed, disillusioned, and deserted by God.
The story of the Children of Israel was given to us so we would not become ‘stuck’ in the desert. The promise of God is as alive today as it was when we first heard it. Nothing has changed. He has full intention of fulfilling it – if we will agree to let Him. Only we can stop the promise from being fulfilled if it is stolen from us by unbelief. Our circumstances are in no way a measure of the potency of the promise. The deal is still on!
We’ve been promised to become fruitful and to overcome the devil, the world, and the flesh, not by our own efforts but by God through us. We have been offered an opportunity to become part of God’s family and to inherit the ‘family business’. We are being offered an opportunity to become part of the Trinity and to co-author the work of God. He’s offering us equality with Him, with all the power and authority that created the universe. Whatever the cost, it’s nothing compared with the rewards of building His Kingdom of love, joy, and peace.
Open the conversation with God and renew your commitment to follow Him. Your ‘desert’ has been designed to teach you to overcome the enemies of your promise. Your destiny is to overcome so you will bear fruit in the Kingdom and become like Him. This is one deal that’s NOT too good to be true – and it is still ON!
To learn more about the process of becoming and fulfilling your destiny check out this book…..
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