Are You Cultivating a Cursed Fig Tree?

And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.(Mat 21:19 ESV)

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and he asked how I was doing.  You see I consider this close friend to be my Barnabas.  Someone that I can confide in and someone who will listen to me vent and will also tell me the truth when I need to hear it. Well I was having a particularly tough day and I began to unload some frustrations.  As I was speaking I suddenly realized that the things that I was frustrated about were not going to change in the foreseeable future and I was wasting my time getting angry and worrying about them.  At the same time I believe that the Holy Spirit dropped a thought into my head.  He reminded me of the Fig Tree that Jesus had cursed when he was hungry along the roadside.  I realized that I was trying to cultivate that dead fig tree.  I was fertilizing that dead tree and trying to get it to produce fruit even though Jesus said that that tree would never produce fruit again.  

By complaining and getting angry about things that are out of my control, I was trying to bring that dead, cursed tree back to life.  Once Jesus cursed that tree, that was it.  It was over and that tree would never produce fruit again.  Complaining and criticizing and getting frustrated and angry won't bring that tree back to life and it sure won't produce any GOOD fruit.  You are wasting your time trying to cultivate that dead, cursed tree.

When you get frustrated are you cultivating that cursed fig tree?  Are you trying to get something dead to produce fruit?  Forget about it and cast all your cares on Him.  He will lighten the load and He will show you where to plant and to cultivate and to reap the GOOD fruit. If you do not currently have a Paul or a Barnabas in your life, start looking for one now.  Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to bring you together with a friend that will listen to you and help you to listen to the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit when He speaks and reminds you of the good fertile ground and to stop wasting your valuable time on the dead trees.