A fruitful tree must be nourished in order to encourage the growth process.  This requires fertilizer.  As you may know, one of the best substances to add to your soil is manure.  The trick is to wait.  After time has passed, the “undesirable elements” in the manure will die off, and it becomes a very effective growth agent.

(I can’t believe I am writing about horse dung on my faith blog…).

Let’s be honest.  Sometimes, life can really stink.  But, trials and tribulations do have a fertilizing purpose in our lives.  After a while, that stinky stuff serves a purpose.  God uses it to sanctify and strengthen us.

Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’  “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.” (Luke 13:6-8, NIV)

Q4U:  Has God used a circumstance to fertilize your life so that greater fruitfulness resulted?  I would love to hear your story.

Thanks for joining me for Day 4!