The godly are like a tree planted by the river (an optimum location) that “bears its fruit in its season,” Psalm 1 tells us. A tree can’t plant itself, but human trees or trees of righteousness which are exchanging the spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise (Isaiah 61 v.3) can help to plant themselves by rivers of living waters when they plant or establish themselves in an opportune position in the Spirit of God, anticipating His promptings, being filled in spirit, speaking to themslves in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord, (Ephesians 5) and continually giving thanks.
Each natural season is known by its particular fruit. It is good for us to recognize a spiritual season also by its characteristic fruit and not to look for or expect the wrong fruit for the season. For example, it may be a spiritual season yielding the fruit of peace for us, so we don’t try to force joy if it’s not already manifest. Peace, after all, is joy resting, as someone wisely said. Some might say, “Well my joy has been resting for an awfully long time, what a lazy bones!” Don’t despair for those bones that seem lazy are starting to stir!
Or perhaps we’re expecting more evidence of self-control (typically one of the last kinds of fruit to blossom) in our lives, when it’s really a season for patience, both with ourselves and with others. Or maybe we were looking for more of a harvest of new believers immediately around us, when it’s actually more of a season for recognizing opportunities for maturing the harvest that has already been gleaned.
In our everyday walk with God, discerning the spiritual season by its distinctive fruit is a key to bringing us into greater harmony and collaboration with the way God is working and moving in our lives at that moment.
trbarlow 