Steven Furtick - Dig It (03/08/2017)
Steven Furtick focuses on dealing with disappointment through the lens of the parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13. He argues that not every disappointment is a disaster and uses the parable to illustrate our responsibility to bear fruit regardless of our circumstances. The conclusion calls for personal examination, digging deeper into root issues, and seeing life's difficulties as fertilizer for future growth.
A Personal Word on Disappointment
Welcome. I so appreciate you taking the time to tune in today. I'm excited about a word that God has given me to share with you. It's not often that I do this. Usually on our broadcast, I'm preaching from our church with the pulpit. But there's something that God began to speak to me just yesterday. And I was so excited about what he was showing me that I actually asked our team if we could create a special broadcast just to share these thoughts with you. Sometimes it's a little easier to share in a one-on-one format.
You know, preaching is wonderful. But sometimes there's something very personal that God gives you to minister. And I feel like this is one of those personal words, particularly for somebody today who is dealing with disappointment in your life. That's actually what I want to talk to you about. I want to talk about dealing with disappointment. I have a friend who comes to visit me about every six months, very wise, a little bit older than me.
And the last time he was with me, he had a strong word for me. And when he leaned across and said it, I knew that it was coming out of his mouth, but it was coming from God's heart. And here's what he said. He said, every disappointment is not a disaster. And for somebody like me who tends to overreact, I don't know if you're an overreactor, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I have the ability in the theater of my mind to emotionally exaggerate an event.
Like if one person doesn't like me, I can feel like the whole world is against me. If one thing goes wrong, it feels like everything is falling apart. And I think one of the things that the presence of God does in our lives is it gives us a perspective, an elevated perspective, a higher perspective, a clearer perspective, a more accurate perspective. And so I believe God has some things he wants to share with you today on the subject of dealing with disappointment.
The Goal Isn't to Avoid Disappointment
Look, the goal of life isn't to eliminate disappointment. The goal of life is to learn how to deal with it in a way. In fact, I wish we were in church right now, because I'd tell you to touch your neighbor and just say, deal with it. So maybe you want to touch your dog or point at your fish or maybe yell at whoever's in the kitchen while you're watching this and tell them, deal with it. Because really, that's a lot of what life is about, isn't it? It's how we deal with it.
It's how we handle stress. It's how we handle anxiety. It's how we handle the letdown. I love the song lyric I heard recently that says, you're no one until someone lets you down. I think that's pretty profound. I think that in life, a lot of times, we don't really know what it means to have God holding us up until people have let us down, until situations have let us down, until some of our own hopes and dreams have let us down.
I believe sometimes God has to let your dream die so that his plan for your life can come alive. And you always find out that his ways are higher, and he's able to do more than you asked or imagined. But all of this is dependent upon your ability and my ability to deal with disappointment. And I came across a passage of Scripture recently that, to me, isn't very common. It's right in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 13. It's a parable that Jesus shares.
And, you know, a lot of the parables Jesus shares are the more famous ones, like the prodigal son or even the lost coin, the lost sheep. Those are in Luke 15. But in Luke 13, Jesus shares a very different kind of parable. Now, this one, this one isn't quite as cute and comforting as the lost sheep or the lost coin. This one's pretty strong. And I think we need to pay attention to everything that's in the Bible, because sometimes we gloss over the stuff that we don't quite know what to do with.
Understanding the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
But Jesus is describing, essentially, the Father's disappointment with the religious system. He's talking about how man-made rules and regulations have replaced the access point of relationship with God. So people are going around hurting and harassed and helpless like sheep without a Shepherd. And Jesus is personally fed up with it. And he's describing the true nature of repentance. Now, in that context, he breaks it down and he shares a parable.
And to me, it's very fascinating. He says, Have you ever gone to a place in your life that should be producing? And when you reached out to take what you expected, there was nothing there? Have you ever been very, very, very disappointed when you invested in someone? Kind of like when you put money in a vending machine and you push the button and nothing comes back out? Have you ever gone to a place where you should receive encouragement, should receive affirmation, should receive remuneration, should receive some kind of reciprocation and God?
And that's the situation here. And Jesus is using an agricultural analogy to help us see what that's like. He said there's a vineyard owner who didn't find any fruit on a fruit tree. Verse 7 says, Look, for three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil? Now, there are a lot of different ways you could look at this passage. Historically, obviously, Jesus had a three-year ministry.
And so I think there's a parallel here that he's saying that in his three years of ministry, he's challenging the entire establishment that had become so rooted in that day, that wasn't producing healing, that wasn't producing love, that wasn't producing true repentance. He's challenging the system and threatening to uproot it. But at a deeper level, could this actually be a picture for the way that our lives are challenged from time to time in seasons of disappointment and seasons of frustration?
Stop Blaming Your Environment
Like, I'm thinking about this parable from a couple of different angles. And I want you to go with me because my mind gets kind of creative and maybe even a little ADHD when I'm reading the Bible. And so I had this picture in the Bible of these trees that are all planted in the same vineyard. And there's one of them that's not doing what it's supposed to do. Now, the tendency for us when life is not producing, when we're not producing, when we're not meeting a standard, when we're not coming forth with what we ought to come forth with, the tendency is often to blame the ground.
Here's the interesting thing, though. When the owner of the vineyard went to the vineyard, there was only one tree that he singled out. There was one tree that wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. Now, the assumption would be that all of the other trees were doing just fine. He has no problem with them. So you may have one tree over here that's producing well, one tree over here that's flourishing fully. But there's one tree that's planted in the same soil that's producing no fruit.
And here's what I want you to get out of that. Sometimes in our life, we complain about our environment or we complain about the ground that we're planted in as an excuse for why we're not bearing fruit. You know, we can have all kinds of reasons for the situation we were born into, the gifts we weren't given, not tall enough, not thin enough. Oh, well, I got a slow metabolism. Oh, well, I've never had any opportunities. Nobody's ever trusted me in that way.
All kinds of reasons that we can give for why we can't bear the fruit that we're called to bear. But the interesting thing is, usually if you look around, there's another tree right next to you planted in the same soil that is bearing fruit. And it kind of takes our excuses away. In other words, you might find somebody who had a home life that was rougher than yours, but still found a way to come out of that situation and actually turn what they had been through around as a testimony to God's goodness.
Or you may find somebody else who has less advantages than you economically, but they're able to take what they have. And somehow, some way, they have a generous heart. Yet, we're planted in the ground and we want to blame the soil for what we're not able to produce. The thing about this parable is that obviously there was nothing wrong with the ground. I really think you got to come to a point in your life where you stop blaming the ground that you're planted in for the fruit that you're not producing.
Finding a Way to Grow
You know, you may be in a situation right now where you're not receiving the encouragement that you want. Where you're not receiving the validation that you want. Where you're not getting all the opportunities on your job. Or maybe it's something with your health. There are all kinds of reasons that you could give as to why you're not bearing fruit. But there is somebody else planted in the same vineyard as you who's dealing with the same struggle, the same difficulty. Yet, they're finding a way to bear fruit.
To be a person of faith is to find a way to grow. Find a way to grow in adversity. Find a way to grow in trial. Find a way to grow in personal pain. Try to find a way to grow in times of setback and turn it into something special. You know, Paul said one time, I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be a base. I know how to abound. What's he saying? Whatever soil I'm planted in, I find a way to flourish. This is one of the things we have to learn in our walk with God, even in dry seasons, to find root in ourselves so that we can grow.
But let's move on in the text because far beyond the personal responsibility of the tree to grow, look at the response of the vineyard owner. He says, you've got one more year to produce fruit. And then I'm going to cut this tree down. I want to ask you a question about some of the areas of your life. Is there an area of your life today that you need to put on a deadline? In other words, to say, you know, in this certain area of my life, I'm going to stop just waiting around for something to happen.
And I'm actually going to set a goal. I'm actually going to set a time frame. I think it's interesting that the manager of the vineyard said, give me a year. I'm going to give it a year. And I'm going to do some things in that year to get this tree to grow. I'm going to do some things that I haven't done before to get the tree to grow. And he specifically mentions two things. Number one, he says, I'll dig around it. I'll dig around it. In other words, I'm going to dig deeper.
The First Action: Dig Deeper
So if there's something in your life today that's not producing, and again, it could be in any area, resources, relationships, any area in your life that's failing to bear fruit, any area that's frustrating you, any area where the tree has nothing on it, and when every time you reach for something off of it, you're disappointed with the result, could it be that you need to dig a little deeper in that area? Could it be that if there's an area where you need more wisdom, you need to be digging deeper into the Word of God?
I find a lot of times we're so satisfied to settle at the surface level of issues. But to dig deeper, to really get down to the root issues, and find out why isn't it growing? One example of this in your life might be unforgiveness. Maybe there's a lack of joy in your life. You know, the Bible says that the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians chapter 5, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Well, if that fruit isn't on your tree, there might be an issue at the root that needs to be dug around.
If there's not joy in your life right now, it might be because there's bitterness at the root. And God may be calling you in this season to do some digging, to get out a shovel, and find out what's really beneath that. Sometimes we're so busy blaming the symptoms. We see what's wrong, and we stay stuck in what's wrong. But I believe that in this season, if you'll say, God, I'm going to do some digging in my own heart. Pray like David prayed. Search me, O God. Know my heart. Try me. Know my ways. See if there's any anxious thought in me. And lead me in your way everlasting.
What's he saying? God, I'm willing to do the dirty work. I'm not just going to stay on the surface. But I really want to find out why I'm not producing in this area of my life. I want you to show me what's in me. I'm not going to blame others. I'm not going to walk around the rest of the vineyard, looking at the rest of the trees, comparing my fruit to their fruit. Work on me, God. And when you make that personal decision to dig, I believe growth starts to happen in places that you might have given up on.
You can stay stuck in disappointment. You can blame the soil. Or you can dig deeper. And I believe that if you will, if you will roll up your sleeves and say, God, I'm willing to look beneath the way things seem so you can show me the way things really are and the way you intend things to be, I believe you find not only that he'll assist you in that process, but that he'll reveal to you what's really going on.
The Second Action: Fertilize It
The second thing isn't quite as obvious in the text, but it says not only that the man agreed to dig around the tree, but check this out. He said, I'm going to fertilize it. Now, in the King James Version, which some of you may read the old King James Version, it uses a more direct phrase. He said, I'm going to dig around the tree and I'm going to dung it. I'm going to dung it. So I'm going to dig and I'm going to dung it.
And I love that because how many times in my life have I felt like that a failure was coming into my life to bury me or doubt or discouragement or disappointment? Remember what my friend said? He said, not every disappointment is a disaster. And when you think about the smell and the texture and the composition and the origin point of dung, it's not a very pretty picture. But the manager of the vineyard knew something. He knew that it was going to take something, a substance that wasn't necessarily desirable to achieve a result that was fruitful.
And man, I just feel like the Spirit of God is on this for somebody today because there are some things you're complaining about, some things you're asking God to take out of your life, but he's trying to dung or fertilize an area of your life so it can bear more fruit. You know, we can't just always categorize things in our life by how they feel to us or how they appear to us or how desirable they are to our flesh or how good they feel.
If you'll be honest, some of the greatest growth periods of your life have been the times where you felt smothered by some of the greatest struggles. Some of the times where you were in the greatest conflict and challenge. That is the dung that created the growth. But that's the fertilizer that created the faith for the fruit to grow on your tree. So why don't you switch your mental strategy a little bit? Instead of looking at the frustrations of life, instead of looking at what you might tend to call a letdown as something that is going to stop the process of production, why don't you look at it as a way to greater growth?
When Life Feels Like Fertilizer
Be careful now because sometimes we pray things and we don't really know what we're asking God for. So we ask God, you know, I want to grow in my faith. I want to grow in my prayer life. God, make me more loving. God, I want to know you more. You know, all these things that we pray, they sound good. But the moment you start praying that, watch out. Because God is going to pull up the wheelbarrow and he's going to pull up the bag of fertilizer and he's going to begin to do things in your life that may not be desirable.
Now, I'm not saying that God does the bad things, but he will allow life from time to time to place something on you or around you. It's that digging and it's that dunging. It's that process that none of us would really enjoy. Digging isn't comfortable. It's hard work. To be covered in dung doesn't feel like you're growing, but it's actually those very things, those very processes. Sometimes that very pain. Sometimes it's the loneliness in our life that produces a greater capacity for intimacy with God and a greater appreciation for the blessing.
So here's why I wanted to talk to you today. I have a feeling that there may be an area in your life where you're beyond frustrated and disappointed. Disappointed, not necessarily with others, but maybe with yourself. Frustrated with yourself because you thought you'd be further along. Frustrated with yourself because, well, you should be doing better by now. Disappointed in yourself because there's an area of your character that you get under control for a little while and it comes back.
It's a frustrating thing to go to the tree and there's no fruit there where there should be. And you have a relationship with God, so you've got the root system. But this is your season of digging. This is not your season to compare yourself to other trees. This is not your season to blame the ground, your husband, your wife, your kids, your mom, your dad, your boss, your ex-husband, your stepdad. This is not your season to compare your fruit to their fruit. This is your season to dig.
Your Season for Patient Urgency
This is your season to discover who God made you to be. This is your season to get to the root issues of what it is that God has truly planted in you concerning your destiny, concerning your mission. And this is not your season to compare when the dung of life, when the hard stuff of life, when the stuff that doesn't smell good, feel good, look good, when that stuff comes, you gotta recognize it. Ah, this is fertilizer. This is strengthening my faith. And this is your season for patient urgency.
I see both working in the passage. I see a manager of the vineyard who says, give me one more year. Because, you know, sometimes we give up on things that God is doing in our life way too easily. The manager of the vineyard could have just said, yeah, you're right, cut it down. He could have just said, yeah, you know, take it away. There's plenty of other trees. But, you know, when God plants something in your life, you need to be a little bit more tenacious.
Sometimes we need to persevere through a process that looks unproductive. But I also see, in contrast to the patience of the manager, I see the urgency of the owner. That he says, we're not gonna waste any ground. And in this season of your life, if you're dealing with the disappointment, it is so important that you uproot all of the things that are draining life. Let me tell you something. You are not an unlimited resource. God is an unlimited God. But you are a finite creature.
And you only have so much ground to give. You only have so much energy. You only have so many nutrients. And the owner of the vineyard said, we're not gonna let anything stay in this vineyard that isn't producing. It isn't a good use of ground. Can I ask you a question? Is it time for some things to be uprooted in your life that are just taking up good ground? Is it time maybe for some relationships that are draining you to be removed from the inner circle of where you concentrate?
Uproot What Drains You
Is it time for some thought patterns that are keeping you up at night? Maybe even some of the things you put in your mind, the things you allow in your heart. Maybe some of the places that you go. Maybe some of the regrets you replay. But is it time for you to uproot some regrets? Uproot some relationships? Because I'm going to tell you, you only have so much ground to give. And it is so important in this season that every square inch of your life is yielded to things that are going to yield fruit.
I just feel this so strongly today for someone who keeps going to the tree and wondering, where's the fruit? Man, I keep coming back to this same place. There's nothing here. And in this passage, I believe there are several principles that apply. But I also want to offer you an opportunity to go further and deeper into this teaching. I put together a DVD collection. In it, you're going to hear sermons about how to embrace the things that drive you crazy. And actually, they can make you great.
You're also going to hear how to deal with seasons of barrenness, as well as seasons of burden. Learning how to make the choices that will lead you in the right direction, even when you don't have control over your circumstance. I really want you to get this resource today. I believe it'll help you. But overall, I want you to evaluate your life today. I believe your life is a vineyard. I believe your life is a place where God desires growth. And growth is not optional for the believer.
The fact of the matter is, friend, you're either growing or you're dying. If you're not growing in your love for others, if you're not growing in your maturity, if you're not growing in your compassion, if you're not growing in your faith, you're in a state of atrophy. God didn't create you for that. God created you for growth. And this is your year, like this tree, to grow. You don't want to let another week slip away, another month slip away, another day slip away, having trees in your life that are taking up perfectly good ground.
Created to Flourish
God created you to flourish, to thrive, to make a difference that your branches may reach. I love Psalm 1. It says, Blessed is a man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of living water, which yields its fruit in season. When you're planted in the right place, you'll always bring forth fruit at the right time.
And so I pray that today you would carefully and prayerfully look at your life and ask God, what is it that you want to uproot that's taking up space? What is it that you want to uproot that's draining me? What is it that you want to uproot that's keeping me from my destiny? And where are the areas of your life where you're calling me to dig? What are the failures, even, and disappointments that you're bringing into my life that are not a disaster, but are actually an essential part of my development?
And I want to pray for you right now, in Jesus' name, that God would locate those areas of your life, that he would give you the patience to persevere. In the places where the fruit is growing, but it's just a little slow, that you would keep digging, that he would give you the patience to persevere in those areas of your life, where right now you feel like you're being fertilized, and it's uncomfortable, and it doesn't feel good, but it's going to work for your good.
It's going to turn in your favor. It's going to yield fruit in season. If you can walk in patience, and stay encouraged, and stay rooted, and I want to pray that you'll have the discernment today, in Jesus' name, to locate those areas that are taking up good ground in your life, taking your best energy, taking away your best focus, stealing away your time. You only have so much. This is an urgent matter. We don't have another day to wait, being frustrated needlessly. But I believe even in your frustration, there is great fruitfulness when God is involved. I want to encourage you to get the rest of these resources. I believe these messages will help you. I believe they'll help you to see things in a new way. They won't take your frustrations or disappointment away, but they will give you a new strategy. Take a look at this.