To Produce MUCH Fruit

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall

be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so,

you will be My disciples.

John 15:5-8 (NKJV)

My heart’s desire is to share with you as though we were in my living room sharing our stories and testimonies over coffee and tea. It is our safe space. If I am honest, I have held back a bit because this is an open forum that I have chosen to make public. However, this does not mean that I should hide my truth.

This week has been a difficult week for me. I was thinking that it was all because there were so many demands at work which caused me to work more overtime than I wanted and brought me to the end of my week exhausted from my efforts to keep up. One night, I sat in my room continuing my reading of a book called “Secrets of The Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson. I had started it earlier that week and had been compelled to continue reading because I was intrigued by the teaching. The author shared that we hinder our fruitfulness for the kingdom of God if we do not address and repent of the sin that we allow in our lives. He went on to reference Hebrews 12:6-11 noting that God corrects those that He loves to bring us back to Him so that we can be producers of fruit. It’s a good book and I recommend that you read it for yourself. I do not want to take away from the author by adding my own interpretation.

As I thought about the words that I was reading. I asked myself, “Is there sin in my life?” Let’s be honest, we all sin and fall short of the will of God. It is a continual process of denying the flesh and following the Spirit. It is a matter of following the principles of God no matter what we are experiencing. So, I asked God to show me any sin in my life that was hindering me from producing MUCH fruit. I did not consider that this night was the eve of my husband’s passing four years ago. A time that rocked me to my very core. The abruptness of my husband’s death and all the secrets that were revealed had taken a toll on my heart and even my faith.

Honestly, I was not sure that I was fully prepared for Him to respond to my request. However, I resolved that I don’t merely want to be free from sin, but my desire is to produce MUCH fruit to bring glory to God. It is my only reasonable response because He has been so merciful and gracious to me. Then, I heard a whisper in my spirit. He gently revealed to me the cause for my wavering. He gently showed me that I was still holding onto the anger and resentment. He said, “because you are still seeking retaliation for all that was done.” Then I heard Romans 12:19 (KJV), “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

There it was. I could not understand why the pain seemed to be so fresh at times or why it still hurt so badly. I had caused myself to suffer additional pain because I continued in my own way to fix it. I guess that I thought “if I let it go, God might forget”. Wow! What a mess that I have created in my own heart and mind. I have continued to suffer because I refused deep down to let it all go. I have continued to give the pain permission to seep into various places in my life and stifle the spiritual growth that could have taken place in my life and in the lives of those around me. So much for following the principles of God.

Proverbs 4:27 (KJV) says, “Turn not to the right hand or to the left; remove thy foot from evil.” His word is final. It doesn’t matter who did what to whom or why. As His child, I am called to a higher response. I am to love my enemy no matter how I feel. I am to turn the other cheek no matter what was done. I am to walk in peace no matter what war is being waged in my life. All of these are principles of the character of God, not actions or reactions of our feelings or emotions. Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” How can I produce the fruits of His Spirit if I am tending to the works of my flesh? I cannot be a producer of much fruit if I continue to operate in anger and resentment.

For me, it was disappointing, and I felt shame. I know that God has brought me so far from where I was four years ago, but I had not realized how far I still had to go. But God is so gracious to meet us where we are and heal the wounds that remain. I was immediately compelled to repent and seek complete deliverance. I no longer want to live in the pain of my past. Instead, I choose to use it as a testimony to bring glory to God.

The Prayer

Father, I pray that we all evaluate our level of commitment to be producers of Your fruit. I pray that we will always be willing to surrender our lives to undergo the pruning that may be necessary. Father, I thank you for Your Grace and Mercy that abounds toward us. Instead of casting us out, You continue to nurture our growth through Your Spirit. Thank you for your gentle and loving correction. I bless Your Name, Father. You are worthy to be praised!

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Worship in Song