Building Faith and Bearing Fruit

As we end one year and begin another, it’s good to consider how we can persevere in faithfully serving the Lord.

God tells us in Jeremiah 17:7-8:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

In stark contrast, verses 5-6 say:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert.”

To be fruitful, we must put our faith in God.

In the story of Joseph, he had it all—his father’s favor and the coat of many colors. His jealous brothers pretended he was dead and sold him into slavery. When Joseph rejected the advances of his master’s wife, he went to jail. Even so, he still had God’s favor and the jailer let him run the prison. 

While there, he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh’s jailed butler, predicting he would soon be restored. Joseph then asked that the butler mention him to Pharaoh, hoping to get out of prison. 

When we start trusting in people and what they say they will do, we are in the wrong place. Remember that God always stands by His words, and He never forgets His promises.

The butler, however, forgot about Joseph for two long years—until Pharaoh had a dream no one could interpret. That’s when Joseph was finally freed, given great authority, and ultimately reconciled to the very brothers who had sold him into slavery.

And then Joseph told them something amazing: 

“You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to … save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

We need to have that same kind of trust—that God is working through everything. We may not know where to go or what to do, but God does. And when circumstances look bad, we can trust He is working all things together for good. When we have that faith, we are like a tree planted by the waters, unaffected by drought and never ceasing to bear fruit. 

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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.