Lemon Tree...AGAIN!

Seems crazy to think that I may get three posts from the inspiration of a lemon tree but I think that just may be the case. I now feel bad for speaking so harshly about the lemon tree in previous posts, as it is now proving to be quite the little producer. Just look at all those potential lemons. (You can't see them all in the picture but I count 17.) Sure they still look like limes but the promise is there. It's just taking some time.

I can't help but think of all the time that has passed and the promises that I have claimed over these past few years. They were always there but they have taken some time. I would be lying if I intimated that I didn't want to give up a time or ten. I would also be lying if I said I didn't sometimes have doubt about those "promises" that I was clinging to. But I didn't give up and I didn't allow my doubt to stop the process.

Late spring or early summer, I noticed so many little lemon buds on our tree. I told Tom that maybe just maybe this lemon tree was a symbol of the abundance that was coming. These lemons have held on tightly and continue to grow and mature, ever so slowly.

That's the same with my promises from God. I have held on tightly and I have grown and matured in my walk with the Lord. I haven't given up. I may have grown weary from time to time but I didn't stop praying and seeking His direction.

You may be wondering just what are these promises that I speak of. Well, the details of those are really between God and me but I can give you a little glimpse. The promise to actually be whole and actually feel whole. The promise to walk in freedom knowing that I am loved and adored by the only one that matters. The promise to walk in abundance in my relationships with others. Like the lemons, it feels like all of these promises and the details surrounding them are nearly ready for the harvest.

Also like the lemons, this has taken a lot of time and hard work. This work has spanned many years. I have remained steadfast in my commitment to pray, to spend time with the Lord, to remain obedient and when I fail, to seek forgiveness. None of these acts have been done with perfection but they have been done diligently over several years. Doing the work does actually produce results.

I guess my point in this writing is to say DON'T GIVE UP! Whatever it is you are praying for or believing God for, don't give up! Don't stop praying, don't stop believing. He hears our pleas and He will answer His children. (Isaiah 65:24)

You will likely grow weary and you will likely get frustrated but DON'T GIVE UP! I have found that when following God, nothing really seems to happen quickly. This really doesn't suit me as I am very, very impatient. Maybe this is just a part of my process and He is teaching me patience. For example, I am just now seeing progress from a prayer/promise from 5 years ago. But even in the Bible, events happened over many, many years.

We also have to consider that sometimes the answers take some time or come in a form that we never expected. Leaving room for this is just allowing God to be God. Let Him provide in the manner and the time frame that He knows is best for you, rather than dictating just how that answer needs to look and when it needs to come. Our way is likely not the best way; we are not "all knowing" and He can do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine". (Ephesians 3:20)

Don't limit God by only accepting answers to prayers in the form that you submit them. Let Him do it His way! I promise you that His way is best!

Something may come to your mind as you read this. You may remember a desire or a dream that you had given up long ago. Maybe it is something you prayed for over the years that just never seemed to be heard, so you've given up. Do a little self check of your prayer and if it passes, get back in the game, get back to praying.

By self check I mean, check to make sure that what you are praying for aligns with the will of God. He is obviously not going to grant us answers to prayers that go against His will for our lives and that are contrary to His design and the very nature of God.

Reflecting back, I can see that the more I align myself with the Lord, my heart's desires changed, which in turn means my prayers changed. We could all likely agree that it's probably a good thing that God didn't give us all the things we have prayed for over the years.

I hope these thoughts encourage you to pray again if you have stopped, to believe again if you have given up, to dream and chase the desires that God has placed in your heart. Our journeys are hard, some are harder than others. Lean in and trust Him again with those desires that you have long since given up.

My last thought is this...sometimes when I reach the end of myself and even what feels like the end of my trusting in Him, I will pray for a little nugget. I will ask Him to just send me a little nugget so that I can know and keep going. He NEVER fails to send me this nugget. He knows I need it.

I pray this for you, that you will receive the little nugget that you need to get back in the game of praying and believing! Pray for your nugget and wait expectantly for Him to reveal it to you!

Until next time...

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." -Isaiah 65:24

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..." -Ephesians 3:20