Psalm 71:7
‘I am a wonder unto many but though art my strong refuge’.
- DAILY READING Hebrews 9:1-22; Exodus 6:28-8:32; Proverbs 2
Sequoia trees are known to be massive. It is one of the world’s largest and most enduring trees. It can grow to 300 feet in height, weigh over 2.5 million pounds, and live for about 3,000 years. 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 muscles, 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 always submit to you, so as 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.
[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK FAITH CLASSICS]