A day with the Lord is like 1,000 years – 6 October 2009

The Chinese bamboo tree when planted, watered, and nurtured for an entire growing season doesn’t outwardly grow as much as an inch.  Then, after the second growing season, a season in which the farmer takes extra care to water, fertilize and care for the bamboo tree, the tree still hasn’t sprouted.   So it goes as the sun rises and sets for four solid years.   The farmer and his wife have nothing tangible to show for all of their labor trying to grow the tree.

Then, along comes year five.  

In the fifth year that Chinese bamboo tree seed finally sprouts and the bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet in just one growing season!

Some of you have been faithful in praying for your needs and for others without any sign of change.  Others have honored God through their acts of righteousness.  Many others have been faithful in their work, business and relationships with others and yet all their efforts appear to be in vain.

If this is you, then do not be discouraged.  God is pleased with, and honours, faith.

In 2 Kings chapters 6 and 7 is recorded a story of a great and long period of famine in Samaria to the extent people were so desperate they could not even believe it when God announced through His prophet,

“…. About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"

"You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"

2 Kings 7 vs 1-2 [NIV]

As the story turned out, it happened just as the Lord had said.  God multiplied the sound of footsteps of four believing lepers and caused them to sound like a mighty army marching towards the Aramean camp (2 Kings 7 vs 5-8).  The Arameans who had laid siege around Samaria causing starvation in the city for a long time, fled for dear life leaving a lot of booty behind.  That day a seah of flour sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria as the Lord had said and the officer who had not believed the word of God was also trampled upon by people and died.

Today God is encouraging all of us not to be despondent because of what seem to be unanswered prayers.  It will happen just as the Lord has promised you and when it does, it will be like flood gates opened.  Like a Chinese bamboo shoot, change for the better and dreams will come to pass within a short period of time.  God is able to do what we are not able to achieve in many years, in just one day.  In the meantime we need to remain faithful in preparing, working hard, believing and speaking the things that are not as though they were.