May 12 of this year, severe pain in my back forced me to rest. I was frustrated because I couldn’t work so I asked Jesus, “How are you working things out for good for me right now?”
I saw a tree, a very tall tree, with deep, wide roots. And at the very top of the tree was a small green growth, the beginning of a branch or a leaf. And I knew that growth didn’t begin today at the top of that tree. It began a while ago, way down deep under the tree, at the roots.
Maybe it began with a rain that brought minerals within grasp of a root which hungrily devoured it. Then the minerals were digested, changed into sap nutrients, and moved along the layer of sapwood near the bark. Up, up, up to the top where God’s light was shining on the tree and calling forth the growth that began so far below. The nutrients, through who knows how many processes and days, became a part of the new branch or leaf.
The growth became obvious because of what was done in private, far below and out of sight. To nourish a huge tree, this process has to be continuous. And if anything interrupts the process, the tree does not continue to grow.
Jesus was showing me that I am the mighty tree. What I do today to grow won’t be revealed right away. But what I do will change me. Over time, the change will be revealed. Jesus was encouraging me that even though this didn’t look like a productive time as I wasn’t able to work, the time I spent with Him in these days would cause growth in me – new life.
For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all. Luke 8:17 (NLT)
May I encourage you to take some small, unseen steps today to become who you want to be tomorrow? Like the tree, in a not-too-distant time, you will show new growth and new fruit.
For a practical process of small steps on the path to becoming who you want to be, look at the 2-Minute Transformations Tool. There is tremendous power in taking small steps forward every day.
It’s going to be a great day!
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