Expect the Test & Dig the Roots

Luke 8:13
The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm,
but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep.
It's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone.

How do I begin to be a woman of substance, and let God's word have 100 fold harvest (maximum impact) in my life?

Notes from Beth Moore Simulcast:
1.Treasure the Wonder ~ August 6th post
2.Protect Your Heart ~ August 15th post

3. Expect the Test
When a season of testing exceeds the season of believing, we are headed toward a season of falling.

Trails are of God to make you stand.

Temptations are of Satan to make you fall.

Learn the word and expect the test. You will be tested on what you have learned.

Should memorize these to help pass the test:

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. 1 Cor. 10:13 (MSG)

And now, God, do it again — bring rains to our drought-stricken lives so those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing. Psalm 126:5-6 (MSG)

Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm. He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; and he sent a man before them — Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true. Psalm 105:15-19 (NIV)

I must cooperate with God's word!

4. Dig the Roots
My roots are as deep as I believe my God loves me. Do I really know how much He loves me?

2 Kings 19:29-31 (focus on v.29 & 30)
Year 1 ~ fruit grows by itself
Year 2 ~ fruit springs up from the previous year
Year 3 ~ you better sow some roots
Take root below and bear fruit above


My thoughts as I have pondered these scriptures:
I'm sorry this post took me so long. I really have been thinking about expecting the test and digging roots. It's just that I don't like tests or digging. Sounds like a lot of hard work to me. Tests are why I did not like school and digging is why I don't like to garden. Who ever said "being a Christian" was easy? There are some who think that getting saved makes the rest of life a breeze. Well, I hate to bust anyone's bubble . . . but that just isn’t true. Which brings me back to why this post is so delayed in its arrival. I hate to bust bubbles. Also, I don't want to say anything to prevent someone from coming to know Christ. So before I begin let me just say: He is worth any test you or I may go through and more than worth any digging we may do to bear His fruit in our lives. So don’t let the subject at hand prevent you from trusting in Him with all your heart. I’d rather go through a trial with Him than have good times and be without Him!

Expect the test, to me implies being prepared, rested up, and studied up. I don’t know about you, but if I waited until the night before the test to go over my notes I knew the outcome wasn’t gonna be pretty. The thing is, we’re out of school now, and the tests of life aren’t scheduled, they come without warning. I heard Chuck Swindoll say once, "if you’re not in a trial right now it’s because you’ve just come out of one or your fixing to enter into one."

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:13

I really like how the Message puts it, "roll up your sleeves . . . put your mind in gear . . . don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves . . . let yourself be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life . . . "

Digging, I said earlier was what I don’t like about gardening. I think my husband loves digging (must be a man thing) because every spring he’s out in the back yard with the tiller breaking up the ground. When I think he’s done enough and we should plant, he keeps on tilling, most of the time until dark. And the next day, I think OK lets go plant, and what does he do? Dig some more. He uses that tiller until he can’t walk behind it anymore because he’s up to his knees in that dirt. And I’m usually irritated because I’m impatient. I want to plant it, and it’s always a fun time with the kids. Then I want to sit back, water it, check on its progress, and EAT! But I know that our garden would not be as productive if he had not put the time and sweat into making the soil soft so that the roots could grow deep and find moisture on their own. This year while everyone’s corn was puny and brown because of the drought ours was tall and green. And we did eat. It was a good harvest.

Now that I think about it those trials we go through, are like that tiller digging up the dirt. They make the ground (our heart) soft so that we can grow deep roots. We can pray, "Lord, spare us from pain and suffering." Although I am beginning to believe, that’s not what He would have us pray. Life is gonna be hard whether we want it to be or not. And like it or not tough times really do benefit us far more than the good times do. Most of the time when things are good we are just like the Israelites, we forget our God and think we can handle our own life.

I think since praying for a life of ease is hardly ever answered with a yes I’m gonna change my prayer.

Lord, take my pain and suffering and soften the ground of my heart. Grow deep roots in my life that I can draw strength from You, so when the rain comes and the wind blows I will not be swept away.