Psalm 71:7

‘I am a wonder unto many but though art my strong refuge’.

DAILY READING   1 Corinthians 10; 2 Kings 3; Amos 8

The Sherman Tree is a big tourist attraction in California. It has been long recognized as the largest tree in the world, in terms of overall volume. Other trees may be taller or wider, but none has the combined weight and width of the Sherman Tree. The Sherman Tree measures 103/31-meters around, and soars 275 feet/84 meters above and it’s still growing. The tree’s height equals that of a 25-story building. One branch of the General Sherman is so big—almost 7 feet/2 meters in diameter. The Sherman Tree appears to be perhaps 1,500 to 2,000 years old.  It’s a vigorous, fast-growing tree and every year it adds enough wood to make another 60-foot/18-meter-tall tree.

The Sherman Tree  is a Sequoia tree, and sequoia trees are generally known to be massive. They are one of the world’s most enduring trees. They can grow to 300 feet in height, weigh over 2.5 million pounds, and live for about 3,000 years. During extreme storms, branches will fall but the tree itself is likely to survive.

Its longevity is also due to its twelve to fourteen-foot-deep matting of roots, spreading over as much as an acre of earth. Such complex root system keeps the sequoia tree firmly grounded and stable. The tree’s extensive root system anchors it against storm conditions and allows it to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Also the root system of this majestic tree is what is responsible for its towering height and astonishing weight.

In the same way, the deeper our spiritual roots are in God, the greater the heights we can attain in life.  In our lives and ministry, we must have a hidden season of developing deep spiritual roots. This hidden season of spiritual preparation must precede a period of visibility or outward prominence. Before attaining great heights there are seasons of preparation when we first develop intimacy with God. In the life of David for instance, we saw how God first prepared him in a hidden season before taking him to greatness.  It was in the bush, in a time of prayerful devotion, a season of serving unseen and unknown, that God prepared David for the throne. In this place God expanded his root system.

When David defeated Goliath many thought he was an overnight success, but nobody saw the lonely years in the shepherd’s fields where he prepared by fighting the bears and lions. In that hidden season of his life, he learned to trust God and make God his strong refuge. Indeed preparation is the mother of manifestation. God first prepares us before He presents us to our world. The season of preparation, is a hidden season of life, where it may seem you are alone fighting the bears and the lions. But God is using the things you are passing through to develop your spiritual roots, and an unshakeable faith in Him.

Some of the challenges you have had to deal with may actually be God’s way of training you for where you are going. Before you can ascend the throne God has for you, you must first pass through processes that prepare you and cause you to become totally dependent on God.

They say an exclamation mark is only a question mark straightened out. Men may exclaim and wonder at you when you finally ascend the throne, but then they didn’t see the hidden places of preparation where God trained you.

Our seasons of preparation will involve times of separation spent in prayer, fasting and studying The Word.  A hidden season of spiritual establishment and preparation is crucial to our outward manifestation,. Just as the root precedes the tree’s outward growth, things are first established spiritually before they manifest physically. That is God’s order of things. Therefore let us learn to patiently release ourselves to God in the place of training and preparation for the great heights He has ordained for us.

PRAYER: Lord, I submit myself, my plans and everything about my life to your perfect will. Lord  have your way in my life, and  please  grant  me the grace to be prepared when Your foreordained season for me comes, in Jesus Name.

Quote

Everything that ultimately  has a glorious ending usually has a humble beginning.