How to Bear Fruit When You Feel Worn and Weary
We set a vase of wildflowers on the table last week, and they felt like tangible beacons of joy. I gazed at them while I made the morning coffee and prayed about how to bear fruit amid these energetic summer days—days with all three children home and many needs surrounding me.
After the coffee was brewed, I read the following words:
“And seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, He went to see if He could find any fruit on it. But when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come” (Mark 11:13, AMP).
I’ve always been intrigued by what Jesus did next.
He cursed the tree, and the tree never again bore fruit.
I spent years assuming this was a story about Jesus being hungry and having a bad day.
However, this story isn’t really about Jesus feeling hungry. It’s more about bearing fruit as believers. Jesus was teaching his followers not to put on facades of religiousness while failing to carry true love and kindness into the world. He was frustrated with Jewish leaders who appeared to be godly but bore no fruit.
This is a lesson for us today, too.
It’s easy to put on a pretty façade but fail to be godly when it matters.
How to Bear Fruit When You’re Weary
What might it look like for us to bear fruit? First, let’s explore some examples of fruit-bearing. Then, we’ll talk about the secret for bearing good fruit, and, last, we’ll look at what the Bible says about bearing fruit.
Examples of Fruit-Bearing
What does it look like to bear fruit in our everyday places?
Here are a few examples:
We set aside our plans to help friends, loved ones, and even strangers who need us—even when these moments feel inconvenient and require sacrifice.
We listen to the gentle nudges telling us to reach out to others with phone calls, notes, and text messages.
When our kids come to us holding board games and storybooks, we don’t send them away because we have work to do.
We are kind to strangers, even those who aren’t kind to us.
We are gentle when we feel like lashing out and patience in difficult moments.
The Secret for Fruit-Bearing
How do we live these lives of consistently honoring God?
The key to bearing good fruit in our lives is staying closely connected to Jesus. We ask him to fill us with his love for others, and we live from the overflow of his love in us. By asking the Lord to change us from the inside out, we let his love transform us into loving people.
The key to bearing good fruit in our lives is staying closely connected to Jesus. #bearingfruit #followingJesus #Jesus Click To TweetI have learned that if I fail to spend time with Jesus in the secret place daily, I will fail to carry his fruit into the world. Abiding in Jesus is the secret to bearing fruit in our lives (John 15).
Practical Ways to Connect With Jesus
Here are several practical ways to connect with Jesus so that our lives will bear fruit:
Spend a few minutes worshiping him in song each morning.
Commit to reading the Bible for even a few minutes each day, aiming to encounter the Living God during this time.
Talk to Jesus as you go about the day. If necessary, write notes or set a timer on your phone to remind yourself to pause and look to him.
Make time to rest in Jesus’ love every day. This might look like lying in your bed and imagining his arms around you, sitting by a window and imagining him sitting with you, or speaking a life-giving Bible verse over your life throughout the days.
Now, let’s look at what the Bible says about how to bear fruit.
Bible Verses on How to Bear Fruit in Our Lives:
1. We learn how to bear fruit by hiding God’s Word in our hearts.
I have treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.
Psalm 119:11, NASB
2. We stay closely connected to Jesus and let him empower us.
Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.
John 15:4
3. We don’t gratify the flesh; instead, we live according to the Spirit.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Romans 13:14
4. We walk in the light and keep no hidden sins.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
5. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with power.
…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
6. We count everything as garbage compared to knowing Jesus.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ…
Philippians 3:8
7. We ask God to help us love others fervently.
Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart…
1 Peter 1:22
As I gaze at the vase of wildflowers, I’m reminded that others will be drawn to the Lord through me when joy exudes from me. This is how we carry Christ’s joy and let our lights shine in the darkness.
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