“Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains. [8] You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7-8 GNT
I like to think that because man was created and placed in a garden to tend it, we have more farming illustrations in the scripture than any other profession. And rightly so, because nothing else explains faith better than farming.Growing up, my friends and I would always look for the fruit trees and pluck their fruits on our way back from school. Some fruits would taste good. Others would be so sour that we’d have to spit them out.There were also seasons where all fruits were sour because they weren’t ripe yet. Since we weren’t farmers but just consumers, we didn’t know the seasons and only judged whether a fruit was ready to be plucked by its presence on the tree. This is the same way God wants us to develop the fruit of the spirit. It’s one fruit with several parts, and when we venture out prematurely, we taste sour in the mouths of those that should have otherwise received us with gladness.When we don’t allow time to develop our patience, self-control, and other parts of the fruit, people end up remembering us for our bad character and behavior.This is why God is more interested in who we become than what we get. It’s because He knows that ripe fruit eventually acquires many friends. But unripe fruit gets tossed to the ground and trampled upon. So, let’s get ripe.
How does work build the fruit of the spirit in us so we ripen as ordained by God?
Have you ever worked with an annoying boss, served a toxic client, launched an unsuccessful product, closed down a business you invested in, lost a lot of money to a bad deal, or hired a negatively-minded employee?I’ve done all this, and I can tell you that nothing ripens you more than these crazy scenarios. In hindsight and with new knowledge, I’ve realized that negative experiences are simply mountains that we must learn to look through to see what God is working in us.It’s one of the hardest practices, but it is just how God ripens us for the work ahead. There’s so much He wants to do through us. But unless we become the kind of fruits ready for consumption, He prefers we stay on the tree, do the work, and show gratitude even when results aren’t forthcoming, until we’re ripe enough to be plucked.So, if there’s a work experience that keeps filling your mind with negative thoughts, it’s a sign that there’s a learning process ahead of you that you must subdue to move forward.
“I have a few experiences at work that I see as unfavorable, but I will tackle them by doing the following…”
The call to action here is to list out those troublesome scenarios that take up unnecessary space in your mind. Then set a game plan for how you’ll tackle them.Whatever your game plan is, only intentionality will help you succeed.
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