Title
God’s Five Year Plan
Scripture
When you…have planted… trees for food…you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years…in the fourth year it shall be holy…in the fifth year you may eat its fruit.
(Leviticus 19:23-25)
Devotional
I have found this principle of harvesting patience to be viable in life as well as agriculture. It is applicable to every long-term endeavor. I have seen that a business, for example, that is willing not to take any profits from itself for at least three years will be able to establish itself in the forth year and reap abundant profits in the fifth. It not only will reap profits, but also will be sound and secure. God knows His creation. He knows how best it functions. He understands that we, like the rest of creation, take time to mature. If we pick the fruit too early, we can harm or even destroy the tree. If we are not willing to reinvest the fruit into the tree, the tree will not be established. It may bear fruit, but not to the increase, as our text says. Therefore, be patient with your long-term investments. Do not pick their fruit too early. Reinvest before you take your profits, and you will receive the increase.