The Orchard

In the Spirit, was taken by a man who performed the husbandry of the trees in this orchard. It was at night, just about the turn of the season from winter to spring. He took me through the trees and as we went along, he showed me the condition of the trees and which ones needed attention. Some of the trees were long overdue for some pruning. Others were uprooted because of storms through the winter, still others were diseased and needing to be cut down. There were also trees that didn't seem to belong in the orchard - dogwoods, maples, and others. There was something about the dogwood tree - I commented on the dogwood, and the man said that it needed to be cut down. Although it was pretty, it had no place in the orchard since it produced no fruit. The master was after the fruit. Many of the trees seemed crowded and overgrown. Unkept fruit trees are a scary site. These trees were no different. The man continued to lead me through the orchard, taking me to the very back. Up on a slight hill stood six trees in three rows of two. They were well pruned and well spaced. I could see that in the daylight, these trees received ample sunlight on all sides. I was fixated on these trees. I asked about why these trees were here. The man replied, "These trees are more fruitful, these 6, than all the other trees in the orchard combined." At that, the vision waned.

A few days later, I was driving along side an orchard. The trees had been recently pruned. I heard the Lord say, "They don't look like much, do they?" The trees were cut back to just a few main branches. The Lord was showing me we are to become "nobodies" - much like Jesus, not doing anything to draw attention to ourselves, just do the will of the Lord.

The Lord continued over the next few weeks, showing me about the mess in the orchard symbolizing much of the church - a lot of "stuff" that wasn't amounting to much fruit. He also showed me the six trees were significant, representing relationships within the body that we each need in order to push us along in our walk and our purpose - we won't achieve these purposes without identifying and surrounding ourselves with these "6 trees".

The Lord also prompted me during prayer to "name the branches". He was saying to identify ministries I am to focus on, and not let any distraction come in to steer me away from His purposes, being faithful in the "little things."

I share this because, although it had immense personal meaning to me, I believe it is a message for the body.