When it is Time to Climb

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I had been picking the leaves from my moringa tree for a while.  When I stood beneath the tree, I was enjoying the ease of picking the leaves from the branches within my reach.  However, over time, I needed to tiptoe and stretch to pick the leaves.

When I looked up into the tree, I observed that there were many leaves outside of my reach while I stood beneath the tree.  So to reach the leaves on the higher branches, I would need to safely climb the tree. 

Then I thought, isn’t this similar to what can happen in our lives?  We can reach for the ‘low hanging fruit’ which of course is good, since we really don’t want any of the fruit to go to waste.  But because these ‘low hanging fruit’ are in abundance for so long, we may actually forget that there are other ‘fruit’ a little higher in the tree.  But to get to the other ‘fruit’ we would need to stretch ourselves, then we would need to climb beyond our initial comfort level.

As I thought about my moringa tree, the questions came to mind:

  • In what areas of my life is God calling me to go higher, to press on and to experience the growth that can only occur with me climbing and taking on new challenges?
  • What fears do I need to let go of to embark on the journey of growth?

The reassuring thing for me was that the leaves in the moringa tree were within my vision, within my view.  The only thing that separated me from getting to the leaves was climbing the tree.  Similarly with some effort, we will experience blessings from the growth opportunities right in our sight.

Let’s ask God to show us the ‘moringa leaves’ He wants us to go after today, for His honor and glory.  Let’s ask God in what areas He wants us to press on, like we are reminded of in the hymn ‘Higher Ground’.

So once again, my question to you is, what ‘moringa tree’ in your life do you need to climb today?  Remember with the vision in view, God provides the tools and strength for us to go higher.

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