Your Fruit-Bearing Season

As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

— Colossians 2:6-7

Have you given yourself to God’s purpose and not seen fruit? Have you grown tired of waiting so long for His promise? Paul gives direction in Colossians 2:6 as to what you should do. “As you, therefore, have received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in Him.” 

How did you receive Jesus? You received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, and you must walk in Him the same way—by faith. Don’t despair and give up because you haven’t seen the fruit of God’s promise. You have the measure of faith God has given you to exercise (Romans 12:3). A tiny little mustard seed of faith can produce much fruit in your life. 

Before a fruit-bearing tree ever blossoms and bears fruit, it must send its roots deeply down into the earth to receive continuous sustenance. As that tree receives nourishment from below, it grows upward, eventually bringing forth blossoms that produce fruit. However, before that tree ever blossoms, it must weather the elements of every season. Heat, cold, snow, ice, rain, drought, and other environmental things come against it. But because its roots go deeply into the earth for sustained nourishment, that tree can survive the seasons and ultimately bear fruit.

Psalm 1:3 uses the example of a tree to declare that when a person is rooted in God’s Word, he is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.”

 

Now consider Paul’s words in Colossians 2:7, “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” The word “rooted” in this verse is derived from the Greek word “ridzo,” which means “something that is established or firmly fixed.” 

 

This meaning gives the image of a strong tree with roots growing deep into the earth to draw ongoing sustenance. Despite the environmental elements to be weathered, the deep roots of that tree hold it firmly and securely in place.

 

Instead of murmuring that it is taking too long for your promise to be realized, you need to thank God for this time of growth. This is the time to send your roots deep into the strength of God’s Word and fellowship with His Spirit. If your roots are firmly fixed in Jesus Christ, you will survive every season and every storm. Finally, you will enter into the fruit-bearing season of your life. You will receive what God has promised you.

A person who achieves success too quickly usually loses it as soon as he gets it. He doesn’t have the roots or experience necessary to maintain it. When someone achieves success too quickly, he often lacks the roots, depth, and foundation to sustain him in the hard times that will come throughout the seasons of his life.

The new spiritual person you are in Jesus needs to change your life. Take this time of waiting to be obedient to the faith and work on your life: your mind, attitude, discipline, finances, and relationships. While you wait for your fruit-bearing season, put off the old man and put on the new one (Colossians 3:9,10). Spend your time wisely by renewing your mind to the Word of God (Ephesians 4:23). Set your mind on things above, not on things of this earth (Colossians 3:2).

Wisely and carefully use your time. Don’t sit around and declare your fruit is taking too long. You can’t produce the fruit of your promise. The Holy Spirit produces fruit in your life. If you sit around and impatiently declare it is taking too long, you further delay the work of the Holy Spirit and the appearance of your promise. 

As you received Jesus, so walk in Him. You can only walk through waiting seasons by faith and not by what you see. Stay the course, and don’t give up. Don’t murmur or complain. Praise the Lord for His promise. Look at this season of waiting as a time to prepare you for a season of abundantly more. Praise God for this time of blessing to help you to become strongly rooted in Jesus. One day, you will reach upwards in the power of God. Blossoms will begin to bloom in your life, letting you know you are about to enter your long-anticipated fruit-bearing season.

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