“In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Matthew 21:18-22
I read these passages in a Lenten devotion recently and they were a wonderful reminder for me, encouraging and also causing me to look at my life’s journey in ways that I had not really thought about before. This passage grabbed me by the throat, had read it before but like most of Scripture, the more you read it the it more opens up to your life.
I don’t know where your journey has taken you, but mine certainly has had its ups and downs and there have been many occasions when I have stumbled and fallen hard, only to find Him there ready to pick me up and set me back upon my feet. That is a God thing; taking the least of this world and setting it back upright to try again at doing His work. What are your thoughts when you read about the fig tree that produced leaves but no fruit? Where has your journey led you? The attached photo was taken back in the day at Bon Berger in Caredeux as John Hall and I were delivering a big load of beans from Morrill, NE and rice and oil to Good Shepherd Lutheran school. On this day my white Mitsubishi truck had ‘power steering’ as the front wheels barely touched the road and the rear springs seemed to be fully compressed as we drove down the bumpy streets through Port-au-Prince on a hot afternoon.
Many children were fed from this food. I am so thankful that so many of you have followed the call of the Holy Spirit to go into the mission fields of this planet and assist with the harvest. Thank you for sharing of your time, talents and prayers with the children, His children living in Haiti who are being fed Spiritually and nutritionally in 247 Christian schools in Haiti.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay