Behold the elephant seed! The Chinese bamboo

In China, there is a bamboo tree that when planted,

watered and fertilized doesn't show any evidence of growth for the first four years.

But, in the fifth year, the bamboo tree starts to grow and grow and grow. In 6 weeks that follow, the Chinese bamboo tree will grow as much as 3ft per day until more than 90ft in height.

When I first heard of this tree, I was amazed and it taught me a great lesson

that is vital for success which is patience and persistence.

The question of the day is did the bamboo tree grow in six weeks or did it take five years to grow?

Our lives, careers and businesses are often like this bamboo tree.

It can be very discouraging if we don't see the results we want to

after working hard, praying hard, spending much time, effort and resources

in trying to accomplish a goal or dream.

But you need to remember that the answer to most questions we ask lies with time.

Time holds the answers and results to our efforts.

Time will tell, you need to understand that in life, there is a season for sowing and a different season for reaping.

You cannot sow and reap in the same season.

Ecclesiastes3:1-10 says

Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses. 2 He sets the time for birth and the time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up, 3 the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building. 4 He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing, 5 the time for making love and the time for not making love, the time for kissing and the time for not kissing. 6 He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away, 7 the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk. 8 He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace. 9 What do we gain from all our work? 10 I know the heavy burdens that God has laid on us.

GNT

This scripture clearly shows that there is a time for everything,

no two seasons can happen at the same time

yes, in some cases, there may be a significant lapse of time between the sowing and the reaping

example a human seed takes 9 months to mature into a baby while that of a rabbit takes 31days.

This shows that different people have different sowing season and different reading season.

Yours might be that of the human seed,

another person might have that of the rabbit,

someone else might have that of a elephant which takes 22 months before the arrival of a baby elephant. This is why you must never allow discouragement to overshadow you.

You need to understand that patience is profitable.

It is a lost virtue in our culture today because most of us are so crazy about wealth and fast success stories

hence we loose the virtue of patience.

The year 2018 has started and everyone has started planning

both individuals and corporate bodies

but we must realize that there is always a time lag between the day you plant the mango and orange seed

and when you actually harvest the fruit.

Every divine purpose delivers in stages

and there is a time for every purpose on this earth including Your Own. Habakkuk 2:3 says

Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed.

GNT

As a believer you need to know that God is bigger than your biggest plans and he is always working for your good. Do not compare yourself with others or look around negatively. God calendar for you is not the same with that of your next-door neighbor.

The fullness of any vision speaks only at the end. Heb 10:35 says..... That means hold on till the end. Indeed "Champions keep playing till they get it right (Billie jean king). Always remember that patience and persistence is vital for success.