“Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Isa 48:17 AV)
This phrase jumped out at me this morning. A profit is any beneficial increase. Some increases are not beneficial. Just ask my doctor. He mentions my muffin top every time I see him. A flood may be an increase of water, but to the farmer who is reading his fields for planting, that level of increase of water is not beneficial. What struck me today is the LORD teaches us to profit whether we realize it or not. If we are a believer, there is always a beneficial increase. Some of which we are unaware of until later in life when the increase becomes apparent. Sometimes, the increase is very small and incremental. Sometimes, the increase is dramatic and large. No matter the type or amount of profit, the LORD increases. It is a principle of life. When it comes to our walk with God, profit is not always evident. Sometimes we can feel as though we haven’t gone all that far. It is hard to see growth when we are observing it every moment. But God teaches us to profit. There is growth even if we cannot perceive it. It is there.
Agriculture is a big example of the above principle. When crops are planted, it is hard not to
notice growth when the crop breaks ground and shoots to the sky. Then fertilization occurs. The blooms fall off. Then the fruit grows. While the fruit grows, it is hard to notice a
day-by-day increase. It is late spring,
here in Milwaukee. This means if one has
annuals, they are pretty much all up by now.
It is amazing to me to watch these plants grow as fast as they grow. I have this one type of plant that you couldn’t
kill if you tried. There is a whole line
of them. I wish I knew what they were called. They are broad-leafed plants that will grow
flowering stems for about a month or so.
These stems shoot way up and have small purple flowers. It reminds me of someone's hair that has a
fly-away that is out of control. Sort of
like Alfalfa of Little Rascals fame. Then
the stem whither and you trim them off.
For the next three or four months, they grow at a snail’s pace. This spring, because of all the rain and cool
weather we had, these plants broke ground and got to adult size very quickly. It was noticeable on an hourly basis. I take my dog out to the front yard about
once an hour or two, and each time I looked at these plants, they had new and
significant growth on them. It was truly
amazing to watch. My lawn was the same
way. In springtime, when there is much
rain and cooler temperatures, I might mow two or three times a week. When the heat of the summer settles in, then
perhaps once a week. Once the fall rolls
around, the sun begins to lower in the south, and rain, although more frequent,
is only replenishing the ground that had become arid during the summer. Growth slows.
But growth is always there.
As we age, we may not notice spiritual growth nearly as much as we did in our earlier years. But it is there. And, the further we are removed from what we once were, we forget how much the LORD has changed us. We tend to look back on only a fraction of the work God has done and forget all that He accomplished. There is always growth. Even if we struggle with the same sin time and again, that doesn’t mean God has not benefitted us with grace and the ability to overcome it. If we are striving against it, failure has become less frequent. It is amazing to think about what we wouldn’t trust the LORD many years ago that today seems like no big deal. We look at the failures in our Christian life of a few decades ago and are grateful that we no longer find those things a problem. The point is simple. God teaches us to profit. There is always growth. Whether we can notice it or not, it is always there. He teaches us to profit and we will. Life begets life. Growth demands more growth. That is the way of creation. That is the way of our God. There is profit. There always will be.
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