Remarkably Fruitful
The Lord drew my attention to a strange site in the spirit. I saw a fruit tree that had been moved from a favorable climate to an unfavorable one; but instead of going dormant as it should have, it was remarkably fruitful.
As I pondered this fruitful tree, I opened my Bible and immediately my eyes caught these words: "... never fails to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:8). This verse depicts a tree that lives in unusual prosperity, even when natural conditions fail and other trees struggle. I believe this is a key word for us to ponder as we continue through 2024.
Among the many trees is one planted on a hidden underground stream. Though they all look the same in favorable seasons, during drought they begin to differentiate; the trees begin to dry out and become unfruitful as they fight for survival. But there is a tree that remains green and fruitful, unmoved by the harsh climate. This tree isn't reliant on natural systems but is rooted in another source, the stream from which it's receives sustenance.
Hold Your Bold Confidence in God
This is a time for bold confidence in the Lord. It's not a time to worry or focus on human strength or lack.
"... Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind,
who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the Lord... But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
He is like a tree planted by the waters
that sends out its roots toward the stream.
It does not fear when the heat comes,
and its leaves are always green.
It does not worry in a year of drought,
nor does it cease to produce fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5, 7-8 BSB) (Photo from Mandy Adendorff)
The tree rooted in the stream has no worries, even when other life sources weaken.
A New Way of Doing Business
It is always God's intention for it to go well with His children, and because we are crossing over into new spiritual geography, the Lord is preparing His people to shift into a new way of doing business. The Israelites experienced their own shift as they transitioned from Egypt to the land of Canaan. In Egypt they had to water their seed by hand, but in the new land they would learn a new way of being fruitful. Instead of toiling to water their seed, they would learn to partner with God in a new operating system.
"For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of Heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:10-12 NKJV)
The system of slavery had caused them to be overly self-dependent, but the system of sonship would require them to trust and partner with God to provide water from Heaven. God had to prepare them for increase by training them to trust through feeding them manna.
The Israelites struggled to trust God because they had only known the way of toil for survival. At the beginning of their desert experience, some felt the need to store up and hide the manna they had collected, but God used the manna to train them to trust Him. Each night they would go to sleep in a tent empty of food in the middle of a dry, cruel desert. But each new day would bring fresh manna without fail. Their hearts eventually learned to rest in peace knowing that God would never fail them. They had to let go of the fantasy that storing up a little manna could provide for them for the next 40 years. In reality, without God they would all starve.
By the time the new generation of Israelites came to their promised land, they had built the faith muscle of "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word coming forth from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4 LSV). Now they were ready to possess the land and believe God for greater increase, for it was never the plan of God to have a people living off manna in a desert. His desire was always for them to increase and build, but they could not advance without learning to trust God confidently. When they finally trusted God, they were able to enter the Promised Land where they were required to rest in God's provision of rain. They no longer had to worry about water because they were tapped into the resource center of Heaven, and they could focus on using their creativity to increase their lives and land. They became fruitful right in the middle of a desert, and the nations around them could see the hand of the living God.
There is a grace that has been given to us in this season to begin moving our root systems from being embedded in human strength to being embedded in resting fully in Him. As you shift all your roots into Him you will sense a new level of rest and quiet strength coming into your life. (Photo via PickPik)
Believe What He Has Told You
This is not a year to shrink back, but to allow what He has told you to affect you deeply. Lift up your gaze to see His eyes locked on you and your seed. You must continue to dream with Him and do great things. We don't have to trust in economies to bless us because we have God's eyes on us. And as He did for the Israelites in their new land, He will do for all who remain confident in Him.
Don't be discouraged by fruitlessness around you; instead, turn from timid trust to bold confidence in your Father who loves you. Whatever your assignment is—from business to ministry and beyond—see your life with the perspective that God has His caring eye on you, and partner with Him by continuing to build with what He has placed within your hand, knowing that He will send the rain. We are a city set on a hill that draws all to Him, and there's never shame in fruitfulness, no matter the season.
There are many sources around us attempting to pull us from believing God in this season. Unbelief is a sin (John 16:8-9; Hebrews 3:12). It is the single thing that kept Moses' generation out of their promise; and after all they had endured, they chose to cower backwards in unbelief and tested God by not believing that He would make good on His promises. Let's not be deceived into reading a newspaper to foretell our future when our times are read and written in Heaven. God's beloved will be fruitful because her roots rest in His unfailing stream.
"So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender love pursues me all the days of my life..." (Psalm 23:6 TPT)
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Mandy Adendorff
Email:Â click here
Website:Â www.mandyadendorff.com
Mandy Adendorff has passionately released the Kingdom at home and abroad for over 30 years. She has planted an equipping supernatural school in Connecticut, teaches and ministers prophetically, and authors numerous books. Mandy is an artist at her core, creating art that impacts the human spirit. When she was fifteen years old she encountered Jesus, but because she is Jewish, she hid her faith until the fire inside couldn't be contained anymore and she has been ministering ever since. Mandy, her husband Stuart and their two daughters immigrated to the US from South Africa and are based in New England, USA.
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