Weekly Devotion: The Harvest

“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” Lk. 10:2

Having spent 25 years of my life on a farm, I learned a few things about harvesting, but two things in particular stand out, it was a joyous time and a time of work. It was joyous because there was a sense of accomplishment in bringing the fruits of your labour into the storehouse and a time of reckoning when you could measure / count the return on your investment. So it is with the Lord’s harvest, what a joyous work we Christians are involved in. Before “the harvest” can take place though, one must first have planted / sowed seed in his field, “The field is the world…” (Matthew 13:38). Sowing is hard work; but if we want to produce Christians, we must plant the precious seed of the “Word of God”.

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” Luke 8:11

Before sowing seed though, the soil needs preparation; my dad was a master at it. One of the first things that needed to be done was to plow the soil, to kill any undesired growth, to reveal fresh soil for making a seedbed. Our heavenly father also is a master at preparing people’s heart for hearing the Word of God.

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

Looking back while plowing; produced crooked rows that only got worse each trip up and down the field. The key to straight rows was to find a fixed point at the other end of the field and to not take your eyes off from it until you reached that point. As Christians, we are to be “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2), he is our fixed point to keep us straight. Once we do plant God’s word in people’s hearts, we are promised that it will not return void (Isaiah 55:11), but too often we spend our time sowing wild oats or bad seeds and praying for a crop failure!

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

Another key ingredient for a successful harvest is water, our focus must be on Christ but our labour must include preparing the soil, planting the seed, and watering. In the spiritual realm, it is our “tears” and the burden for the lost that actually waters the “precious seed” sown in God’s kingdom.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5, 6

It may be that God will allow you to harvest what someone else has prepared, sown, or watered, but would you be willing to weep and pray and carry God’s precious seed to those who don’t know him? Friend, the “labourers” are few but the “harvest” is great, lift up your eyes and “look on the fields”!

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” John 4:35