Morning Devotional 083025 God Tends Our Souls

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

August 30, 2025

Luke 13:6-9

6 Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ 8 The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I will dig around it and give it fertilizer. 9 Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’”

Good Morning! God gives us time to grow!

Praise God that we are not cut down when we fail to produce fruit right away. Jesus invites us to come and gives us the tools to grow in our faith. Despite our best efforts, we are slow to learn, we stumble along the way, and we even run away when doubts arise. 

God, our loving parent, provides the Holy Spirit to nurture, shape, and mold us. This process often takes years, and for every step forward we sometimes take two steps backward. Praise to our loving and patient God. 

God sees our potential and gives us the time we need to bloom and produce fruit. We slowly grow into the beings God intends us to be. 

Loving Lord, you bless us abundantly! We stumble and fall; we fail to grow in our faith; we ignore your call. Thank you for loving us despite our efforts to stand on our own. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: God is a patient gardener!

By God’s grace, we are growing! Pastor Liz