An Empty Barn

“Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19

God’s way with words is always thought-provoking but can also be entertaining in its inquisitive nature. In short, God loves to answer His own questions! In the time of Haggai, God had finally gotten the people’s attention through the scarcity of certain provisions. He pointed out the obvious…there was no growth hanging on the vines. His question was more of an underlying consideration of the location of the seed. As the people were discouraged that nothing had come to ripeness as they looked on the vines, God reminded them that they had planted the appropriate seeds for future growth. The seed was in the ground so it would only go to reason that blessings were coming although the vines were currently bare. ‘Soon, whatever they had planted would grow. Whatever they sowed would sprout. They will have plenty once again. They will live in abundance. But the evidence of God’s promised blessings was not yet hanging on the vine. What God said and what they saw didn’t seem to match.’ Take Courage, Jennifer Rothschild, p.166.

Whew! Now that last sentence preaches for this girl who has been promised a major blessing for 15 years and yet His ‘yes’ still looks like a ‘no’ on the vine. I am constantly checking the vines for growth…a sign of life…a single bud. Impatient at best, discouraged at worse. God reminded me this morning with a question, ‘Is the seed still in the barn?’ It struck my heart that He was saying, ‘Have I not promised you the yield of your desire? Have we not planted and sown what will be ripe for the gather?’ He wants me to fully embrace the wait and understand that while I don’t yet see the growth, there is growth within me. ‘When a blessing takes a long time to show up, it gives us time to grow up…The process of patience matured me…As we grow in patience, we grow in faith. As we grow in faith, our capacity for patience grows. We are all in process. You can be patient with the seed because God is faithful with the seed.’ p. 167

I wonder this morning, what vine in your life has not yielded the fruit? Do you really believe that the seed has been planted and no longer is in the barn based on God’s promise to you? Are you going to God daily in partnership and fellowship to water and nourish the seed? There are many verses that speak to the question of doubt, ‘Is the seed still in the barn?’ Any questions we have regarding our future has already been answered in the holy writ of God’s book.

‘The vision is yet for an appointed time; at the end it will speak and will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come.’ Habakkuk 2:3.

“Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’” John 13:7

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:3