April 5th
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:12-15 NKJV
This Psalm gives us a glimpse of what fruitfulness in God looks like. A person’s lack of fruitfulness in God can be a major foothold of condemnation from the devil. It can be easy to get overrun in our sin, stalled in our faith and convinced that God is out to punish us. If that’s your situation, take comfort that Jesus bore God’s entire wrath toward you on the cross. You now have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and can boldly come before God for help at any time (Hebrews 4:16).
God’s gift to you along with the forgiveness of your sins is that he counts you as righteous through the blood of Jesus. As such, you may claim the promises in the Bible toward the righteous (Romans 3:21-29). The above Psalm contains several such promises. The one requirement is that you must “plant yourself” in the house of the Lord. This means we should be well grounded in the word of God (the Bible), plugged into a good church and pursuing a relationship with God.
I personally desire to be planted as close to God as I can, so that I can drink from the living water and grow spiritually. I don’t want to plant myself near the television or the movie theater or the porn sites. If I feed on all that the world’s “junk food,” my spiritual condition will reflect that. By planting myself near God’s resources, I have the promises that I will flourish in the courts of God, I will bear fruit even in old age, and I will be fresh and flourishing to declare that God is Good!
Questions for further thought:
Evaluate your own situation with God. How well are you planted in the house of the Lord right now? (daily devotions, good church, accountability relationships, etc..)
What are some weekly habits that are siphoning off valuable time in your life from God?
What actions can/will you take to redirect that time to God?
Prayer:
“Dear God, Thank you for sending Jesus to take all the punishment that I deserved for my sin. Thank you that I have peace with you and can approach you for help at any time. Please forgive me for any reluctance I have had in planting myself in a good church and meeting with you daily in quiet times. Please renew a passionate heart in me toward you. Help me to hunger and thirst for you each day. I want to flourish in you, just as a healthy tree planted by the waters. I will praise you, O God, for you are righteous, and holy, and just, and merciful and kind. Thank you! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”