“…A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7
Fall is quickly approaching. You can see signs of it everywhere you turn. Leaves have started falling in some places, the air is cooling down, the sun is setting sooner, school has started, and the fields have changed from mostly greens to yellows and browns. I feel very fortunate to now live surrounded by farm fields because I can’t help but really embrace every season and watch as nature literally changes around me to match the season it is in. It has also enabled me to reflect on my own seasons each year. As I see the planter go out, I think about what seeds God is planting in me or leading me to plant. All of those projects, relationships, lessons being invested in during the spring. As the combine comes out, I hear God whisper, it is time for harvest. I reflect on what I am harvesting that year. It rarely is what I expected.
So, what did you “plant” this spring?
Did you water it?
Did you weed it?
Did you tend to it carefully during times it needed extra attention?
Did you give up?
“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:20
Sometimes we plant and harvest a little bit, but after a few years we get a hundred times what was sown to begin with. Kind of like those perennial plants that we start, then year two we are excited if they are still alive and by year three they may really be flourishing!
The last few years since I have been in the country really thinking about what I am planting and what it is harvesting, God has helped me to see what He meant in this verse:
“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Mark 9:37-38
While I don’t own my own planter or combine, I have my own equipment to harvest for the Lord and it is my body, my soul, my heart, and my mind. And we are taught:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23
So if we choose to be laborers for the Lord. If we choose to plant His seeds. We will be a part of His Harvest team….and in my experience, the Harvest has already begun. It isn’t something we have to sit around waiting on. His seeds have been being planted long before us, in us, around us. Some are choosing to water and fertilize those seeds. Others are being called to weed around the seeds to assist in the growth. And one of the toughest jobs of all is when God calls us to help harvest. To take what has been planted, tended to, cared for, and celebrate in the blessings. That may seem joy-filled and it can be, but it can also be very humbling after you realize all that was sacrificed for that particular harvest. Blood, sweat, tears, went into harvesting those lessons, blessings, or relationships. That harvest didn’t come without a price. And harder still is watching as the chaff blows away…
“Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” Psalm 1:4
Every season, we all have chaff that blows away and until it is gone, sometimes it is hard to see what the chaff was. Chaff (1) is the husks of corn left behind after the harvest that blows around and may litter your lawn. One definition even said something worthless! But at one time, that “chaff” was the covering to the seeds, it protected the fruit while it was growing before it was time to harvest.
Sometimes the things that “blow away” in our lives were the very things protecting us while we were maturing. While our fruit was ripening and being ready to give back to the Lord. Yet there is a separation of that chaff from the harvest near the end. If you tried to pull those green husks back a few months early, you would have to put some muscle into it, they are adhered well and the ear isn’t quite ready. But by harvest time, it is easily pulled back and falls away leaving behind the harvest.
Father, as we enter into a harvest season, let us reflect on the seeds that you have planted in us. Help us to see the seeds you helped us to plant in others. Illuminate what we are harvesting so that we can appreciate it, acknowledge it, and store it up or share it as you lead us. Let us see how that harvest is bringing you glory and how it is answering prayers we have sent to you. Let us be laborers for you, planting seeds and harvesting to grow your kingdom. And before we are laborers, thank you for sending laborers to plant seeds in us as you were preparing for us to mature, ripen, and be harvested for you. We love you; appreciate your patience, and thank you for giving us signs all around us to teach us more about you. Amen.
Laboring in the fields with you, Julie
P.S. As I reflected on my harvest this year, I was overwhelmed when I saw a full rainbow over my home and all the fields of crops. I hope it provides you hope that God is here with us and that He can show you His plans for you and your future don’t give up!
Father, Today I Surrender:
My Harvest
Show me the next step I should take.