Be fruitful....and multiply?

It’s time for one year to end and another year to begin. This is a time of transition, evaluation, and planning. All of these things take a level of maturity that God gives us the opportunity to gain throughout the year. We have certain tests and situations that present the avenue for us to learn and grow as people and as believers. For me, especially, I really like to see if I walked in a way that brought a smile to God’s face this year. Did I live the life that I always talk about or was I nothing more than a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1)? I don’t do this to belittle or degrade myself, it’s a tool of growth for me.

At the end of each year, I take a look at my vision board and all of the things I planned to do. I reflect on what was taught through Wives in Waiting. I ask my husband if I improved as his wife. But, most of all, I look at the Word of God and measure my actions against what He has to say. Sometimes, I am really pleased with how much I’ve grown and learned in 365 days so I give myself a pat on the back. Other times, I am disappointed in the areas where I didn’t measure up to God’s standard. The beauty of a relationship with God is that even “failure” is a lesson in itself. He doesn’t allow us to miss the mark without giving us direction on how to get there next time.

As this year is coming to a close, I have been spending more of my time studying God’s original intention of man on this Earth. Not just what we have to settle for since sin entered the world, but what was the original plan for us. What are those things that God promised, asked, and commanded when He created the Earth? Some of the things on my 2015 vision board required me to get back to the basics of why I believe what I believe. I wanted more of God and I knew that included me digging deeper into what I followed, lived, and taught.

I ran into a problem very early in my studying. Genesis 1:27-28 says God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Be fruitful AND multiply? Be FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY!!!! Wow!

I immediately felt defeated because as a woman on a journey to fertility, how could I possibly fulfill this command? How could I, with a barren womb, be fruitful and multiply? Why would God make that the first thing He told the man and woman He created when He knew there would be women like me who couldn’t do that? Doesn’t He love us enough to not ask us to do something we don’t have the ability to do?

That last question is what moved me from defeat to inspiration. I had to be missing something because God is not setting us up to fail, He wants us to succeed.

Jeremiah 29:11 (my life verse) says so: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God’s Word declares what may be impossible on our own but what is simple when we’re following Him. His plans for us, the plans to give us a future and a hope, take his commands into consideration. He doesn’t forget what He’s commanded us to do when He makes plans for us. His plans are with eternity in mind, His plans are not to defeat us or condemn us. It’s so much bigger than that. He equips us to do what He commands by His power and His strength when we don’t see how it’s possible or even desirable. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Read that again. I, you, me, we, them, they can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!

That is exciting. It is to me, at least. Because that changes everything. That changes the way I look at my condition, my circumstance, and my diagnosis. It even changes the way I look at all of God’s commands, especially to be fruitful and multiply. What I realize now is that if He commands it, He will give the strength to do it. What I also have to realize is that how I see things is not the same way God sees things. I may hear a doctor’s perception of what it will take for me to get pregnant, but I can’t forget that God equips me to do what He commands. He would not allow the prognosis of a doctor to overrule His command to me. That can be tough to remember, but it’s so important to believe.

God, YOU, commanded it so You, Lord, have to give me the strength to obey!

The Bible says that it is better to obey than to sacrifice. Think about that, it is better to obey God’s commands than to sacrifice. That blows me away. The Lord commands us to do something, He gives us the strength to do it, and then says it is better to do it than to sacrifice. God is in your corner. He wants you to have what He’s planned for you to have and for you to obey Him to get it. Not because you deserve it, but simply because He’s commanded it!

Seeing things from God’s perspective will always change yours. When He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, He was thinking about the future generations to come. He was thinking about you. I know that different seasons of our lives produce different kinds of fruit. For example, the winter may not be the most ideal conditions for fresh fruit to grow. Or summer may be too hot and will scorch the fruit before it has matured. So, don’t think this verse is just about children or your lineage. All of us can relate to this. There are times in all of our lives when we find this command difficult to obey because we don’t have the necessary tools or equipment to be fruitful and to multiply. But I want you to see what God showed me: if He commanded it, He will give you what you need to obey it!

For some it may be children, for others it may be business, ministry, wholeness, mentoring, healing, etc. It’s not exclusive to the journey I’m on because your journey is just as important to God. Do not allow this year to end with you believing you don’t have the ability to be fruitful and multiply. Maybe you have been looking in the wrong place and only relying on yourself. What if your fruitfulness and multiplication are just a surrender away? It's in your obedience to follow God’s commands, not your sacrifice.

Join me in measuring yourself against God’s standards for your life. Where you didn’t multiply, ask Him to show you how to better obey Him to follow His commands. Not because you’re punishing yourself but because you love the Lord enough to obey Him! As you mature in your faith and grow in your walk with Christ, our heart’s desire should be please Him in everything that we do. It’s not enough to talk about obeying if you’re not acting out your obedience.

Remember, it’s a time for transition, evaluation, and planning. We need God’s help to do all of them and to do them with excellence. He wants you to be fruitful and multiply in each of these areas. Be fruitful and multiply in your transition. Be fruitful and multiply in your evaluation. Be fruitful and multiply in your planning. If 2016 is going to be a year of love, we have to determine that we are going to live a life of good fruit and multiplication.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With All My Love,
Mrs. Truscott