Now and Not Yet by Ruth Chou SimonsSample

A couple of years ago, my family walked through a difficult season that resulted in lots of questions, prayer, and seeking the Lord. And, though it wasn’t the quick, tidy answer we longed for, over time, God answered our family’s questions about our unexpected, unwanted, seemingly unfruitful season through the apostle Paul’s words in his letter to the Galatians: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (6:9). I want to stop a minute and give you the context of this promise from God’s Word. We tend to love encouraging verses like this as standalone reminders of God’s faithfulness, but there’s so much more to receive if we take a closer look at why Paul wrote these words. You see, Paul was wrapping up his letter to the Galatians at this point in chapter 6, after explaining, in detail, the nature of their salvation—by faith and not works, so that they would not live under the burden of the law unnecessarily. He had already reminded them of their freedom in Christ and how they could only bear fruit by walking in the Spirit. So at the end of the letter, Paul carried on the imagery of fruit-bearing and used seasonal terms: sowing and reaping. . . Paul was telling the Galatians, “Since you are not saved by your good works but by your faith in Christ (that gives you freedom!), live with the harvest season in mind. Plant seeds now that will grow into the fruit you long to harvest. You can’t see what will be harvested right now, but you can be sure that if you plant worldly seeds, they will grow into worldly fruit; if you plant eternal seeds, they will grow into eternal fruit.” In our family’s unwanted season of fruitlessness, we had a choice: we could either sow seeds of bitterness, doubt, and hopelessness, or we could choose to sow seeds of faith, obedience, and trust. We chose the latter—to the best of our abilities. Some days that looked like praying for joy, and some days that looked like self-discipline to stop replaying hurts over and over again. We learned to sow seeds of forgiveness, love, and hope in a God whom we believed (even in our fear and doubt) would work it all out for our good. Prayer Lord, I am so grateful that you have given me freedom in Christ. Please help me walk in the Spirit so that I can bear your fruit. Amen.