Luke 13:6-9 Parable of the barren fig tree.

Three years had passed and while this tree continued to grow, it failed to bear fruit. The vineyard owner wanted the tree torn down, but the keeper of the vineyard asked for the opportunity to dig around and fertilize it with “dung”.

We don’t choose the soil we get planted in. We may have pains and challenges in the soil we are planted in. But God knows what we need to make us grow. It’s not the soil that is bad in this vineyard because all of the other trees are fruitful. It’s how the barren tree dealt with the soil he was in. This tree still grew and was green but never had any fruit.

Other trees in the vineyard were faced with the same soil, but they were still bearing fruit. What was wrong with this fruitless tree?

In this parable, Jesus is the keeper of the field and Father God is the owner. Jesus asks Father God to give the fruitless tree another chance. He makes the tree His responsibility, like He did when He died on the cross. He made it His responsibility, asking for another year to “dig and dung” the tree. Let Jesus do this for you, and this will be your year of breakthrough, fruitfulness, and victory.

To “dig” — the secret to having a garden grow is keeping the soil around it dug up and soft so the nutrients to get in. Digging makes room for growth. Dig up the environment that surrounds you. Do this by spending more time reading your bible and seeking God. It can be hard work to discipline yourself this way and at times it doesn’t feel “natural” to do things like getting up earlier in the day to spend time with the Lord. But  there is nothing natural about becoming supernatural. It doesn’t always come easy; you have to work at it.

To “dung” – God will “dung” you. Horrible things such as dung are used to bring miracle growth to plants. God is going to take the horrible and obnoxious circumstances and things of your life, break them up, use them as a base to fertilize, and cause the good fruit of your life to multiply. As we spend more time with Him and in the Word, He will show us how to overcome these circumstances and turn them around for good. As we learned last week, Romans 8:28 tell us that And we know that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

This is the year that God is going to use those unfavorable things of your life for good so you can enjoy your life the way He meant  it to be in the soil He planted you in.

Philippians 3:8 explains this. There were many bad circumstances surrounding Paul, but he considered these all as dung. Through these he persevered, and this “dung” was the fertilizer that made Paul blossom and bear so much fruit. God worked together these things in Paul’s life for good.

Psalm 83:10 tell us that the very thing trying to destroy you God will use as fertilizer to cause you to bear fruit.

Jesus is the one that takes the dung circumstances in our lives, use them as the fertilizer that will cause you to bear much fruit.

Leave this place today with more faith. Beginning this year grow more, in Jesus’ name.