LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Monday 18th October 2021
THE EARTH IS FRUITFUL
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. Genesis 1:11
1. God has made our planet a fruitful place. He has given the earth the ability to nurture life and sustain it. The Bible’s account of life on this planet shows that it has not always been a life-producing and life-supporting place. In the opening verses of Genesis – the book of beginnings, God introduces us to a barren, dark and watery planet. At that time in our planet’s history, the Spirit of God was preparing it for intelligent life.
In today’s passage, God spoke to the earth to ‘bring forth’ – for vegetation to sprout from it. That statement would presuppose that the Lord prepared this planet with the capacity to be a productive place. He later took a piece of the fruitful ground to form humankind – God’s image and likeness.
To live fruitful lives, we must appreciate the evidence that our Heavenly Father has given us in creation. Nature expresses fruitfulness in various forms. Each day, the Lord reminds us of the enormous potential that we can produce in this world that He has created for us.
2. God created the earth to be productive. Our planet is not sterile. The Creator has designed it to allow things to grow from it. Just take a look around you and see the diversity of life in our habitat. Everywhere we turn, we are surrounded by fantastic vegetation – from the majestic trees when we raise our eyes to the humble grass we walk on. On every side, we see colours, shapes and patterns without end. All of the beauty we see in our vegetation came from the lowly earth.
3. God can make us live productively on any part of the earth. Just as God has made our world fruitful, we can also live productive lives wherever we find ourselves. We can flourish anywhere that God plants us – at home, school, office or church. Whether we live in a so-called developed or underdeveloped country, God can make our lives fruitful. He has blessed every nation on this globe with enough resources to enable them to live constructively. No matter how impoverished a country is, God has endowed its land, water bodies and air space to be fruitful.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you made the earth to be fruitful. I boldly declare that I will flourish wherever you plant me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.