Internal Work Before Visible Fruit™ - Part 3: The Fruit Is Serving

Welcome

Thank you for joining Part 3 of our series, Internal Work Before Visible Fruit™.

In Part 2, we reflected on faithful stewardship and what it means to care for what the Lord has already placed in our hands.

Now the fruit is visible.

But visible fruit is not the end.

Fruit has purpose.

It is meant to serve others.

Let’s continue our conversation.

Opening Reflection

When fruit is visible, it is easy to focus on what we finally see.

The finished work.

The answered prayer.

The new opportunity.

The growth.

But the fruit did not begin when it became visible.

There is preparation.

There is internal work.

What is not yet visible is still growing.

And growth does not stop when the fruit becomes visible.

What Is Visible Fruit That Serves Others?

A steward faithfully releases what has been entrusted into their hands.

What has developed becomes visible fruit, and that fruit is released as an offering to serve another person.

But receiving the fruit and partaking of the fruit are not the same.

Partaking is participation.

The recipient decides what to do with the fruit.

Reflect.

Apply.

Take action.

And because every person has their own journey, the same fruit serves one person differently than it serves another.

What I’m Learning in This Season

During this season, I continually watch what the Lord has entrusted into my hands become visible fruit.

More service offerings develop.

More people begin partaking of the fruit.

And I realize something.

I do not have to see how far the fruit reaches.

I faithfully release what the Lord has entrusted to me.

I remain available to serve.

And I continue remaining in the Lord.

Let’s Read Scripture Together

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4–5 (NIV)

The one word I keep returning to in this Scripture is:

Remain.

To remain is to stay.

It is relational.

We stay with the Lord because He is our Source.

He tends and prunes.

We develop and grow.

How You Can Too

There is value in what has been placed in your hands to serve you.

How you partake of it is intentional.

You can spend time with it now, reflect on what speaks to you where you are, apply something that supports you, or recognize its value and intentionally return to it another time.

You may even recognize that what you receive serves someone else and choose to share it.

The timing may look different.

The participation may look different.

And through your participation, the fruit is serving.

Reader Takeaway

Visible fruit allows us to see what has been developing all along.

But seeing the fruit is not the end of the process.

We see the fruit reach the recipient.

What happens after that belongs to their journey.

The fruit continues serving beyond what we see.

Resources for Your Journey

Practical tools and encouragement for everyday life and seasons of transition are available through The Encouragement Resource™ (The ER™).

Everyone is invited to visit, receive, and reflect on the practical resources available for your journey.

https://www.onewordencourage.com/

Looking Ahead in the Series

We began this conversation as a three-part series.

As we have continued reflecting on fruitfulness, there is more.

In Part 3B – The Fruit Was Already in the Making™, we’ll reflect on something we may not always recognize:

The fruit we see today has been developing long before we knew what it would become.

I look forward to continuing our conversation.

With gratitude,

Mary P. Wells
Founder & Chief Visionary Officer
One Word Encourage, LLC

Peace. Clarity. Purpose.™ 💚