From Planted to Flourishing

Psalm 92:13-14 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

I realize I am connected to the Vine. I am planted in the house of the Lord. I am faithful to His Word and to His house. Still, at times He has to tie a string and use support to hold me up. That is not where I should be after thirty-five years. I am planted in Him. I produce fruit, but I should be flourishing in Him.

There are often times I don’t see or feel my purpose. Yet, I have such a passinate yearning for more. I want to be in prayer more. I need to worship more in His presence. He is always there; He is readily available. I have to be more aware of His presence. I feel Him pruning things off. Yet I find myself clinging to the familiar. Familiar is often more easy and comfortable.

Music usually ministrers to my heart. In worship, I heard Him speaking through song. I marked these passages as steps that I need to take to move past those moments where I am planted but not flourishing.

Isaiah 44:8 Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

We are called to declare what God has said boldly. We are a witness as to who He is. When we have the revelation, we must declare it. There are times that being His witness wells up within me, and I have the boldness to speak of who He is. There are other times that I have let fear silence me, despite knowing that there is none other besides God.

II Kings 6:15-17 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”  He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

The Lord sends His angels to minister and war over us. We need eyes to see the spiritual realm. We need to build our faith in what God is doing all around us.

 Matthew 16:13-19 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Church needs a revelation of who Christ is. We need to declare who Christ is, both in our lives and to the problems we face. We need to loose His power on earth. The enemy can not prevail against who Christ is.

We are called to be planted in the Lord. There are times that we know our foundation is solid, but we feel dry. We know we are not flourishing as God called us too. During those times, it is important to seek Him. We have to get in His presence and seek Him for oursleves. We have to speak out and declare who He is and all He has done in our life and not allow fear to silence us. We need to ask Him to give use eyes during that time to see what is going on in the spiritual realm that we can not see with our natural eyes. We need to declare who God is in that sitaution and begin to bind the work of the enemy and loose all that is avialble to us through Christ that His kingdom come.

Prayer – Lord, help me to stay in your presence. Lord open my eyes to see in the spiritual realm. Help me to seek You first. Help me to boldly proclaim You into every situation. Let me loose and bind everything that You have called me to on this earth for Your Kingdom! Move me from mearely planted to flourishing for Your glory and honor.