Last week, almost nightly, I crawled into bed beyond exhausted. Why? It’s time to prepare our garden, find the right seeds and plant the seeds we purchased. I love this time of year. I love gardening, it is very meditative to me, but it is also hard work. A type of physical work I don’t normally do. And it can’t wait – when it’s time, it’s time. If I were to delay, I would miss the planting season – if I miss planting season – there will be no harvest for an entire year.
Over the weekend, I rested on Saturday – I didn’t do any work. I simply spent quiet time at home, listening to the Bible or teachings. I began to think about the days before and how thankful I was that most things had been planted. While thinking about this, I was reminded of something. There are two times relating to harvest that are simply hard work. One of those times is when it is time to prepare the garden and get the seeds in the ground. The other time is when all those seeds come to fullness and it’s time to harvest.
The Lord pointed out to me a few vital things that directly affect my harvest – my harvest from my garden as well as my harvest in life.
The first thing needed was to prepare our garden. We had to remove all the weeds and anything that would hinder our plants from growing. We had to till the ground and prepare it for the coming seeds. We also had to make sure our seeds were planted in an area where they would not be eaten by animals before they could mature.
Once that was done, we had to find the right seed. That may seem simple to some, but it wasn’t for us. We have gardened for a few years now – we know what we like and what we don’t like. We know which type of green bean we want. We know the corn we want and the corn we don’t want. We know the potatoes we prefer. This year, it was quite an adventure to find exactly what we wanted – we refused to settle for less. This meant driving out of town and visiting several different places to find all we desired to have.
After the seed is in the ground, the work isn’t over. We must then keep all the weeds out weekly. Water often and make sure our plants are getting ample sun while we watch the harvest come in.
Once everything comes to fruition – we gather it in. Most things we freeze or can for winter. Nothing is as satisfying as looking at a pantry that is filled with harvest, enough to last until the next planting season.
While it is awesome to have enough vegetables to last through the winter – that’s not what God was showing me today. He was showing me He wants His people to have enough financial blessings to last them from one season to another – from one planting season to the next.
So, we must do the same things. We must prepare our gardens. Plant our seeds and keep the weeds and devourer out.
One of the things God had me do in the past month was create a new prayer board. He led me to put this one in my bedroom – I have never done that before. However, each night before I go to sleep, I see the things I have been sowing and believing for. Each morning, when my eyes come open, the first thing I see is that prayer board. It reminds me of Jacob. He placed spotted and speckled branches in front of the animals in the very place they gathered. The end result was they produced spotted and speckled offspring. My prayer board is part of preparing my spiritual garden.
The other thing God has led me to do is constantly check my heart to make sure there are no weeds in my field. It is not worth having one bit of anger, envy, jealousy, bitterness, doubt, disappointment or unforgiveness in your heart. It will hinder God from working on our behalf. We simply must keep our heart and mind free from all offense.
Finally, every few days God has me sow seed, financial seed, toward my prayer requests. Each time I do this, it excites me. I know, just as I have planted seeds in my garden to produce exactly what I desire to harvest, the seeds God has me sow are also producing an abundant harvest that will take me from one season to the next.
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. (Amos 9:13)
Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. (Gal 6, Phillips)
I sowed blue lake green beans – I will reap blue lake green beans. I sowed Kennebec potatoes, and I will reap those same type of potatoes. If I sow forgiveness, I will reap forgiveness. However, if I sow unforgiveness, I will reap that as well. If I sow discord, I will not reap peace. We must watch what we sow daily. Sowing and reaping doesn’t only apply to finances or gardens – it is a way of life. What we sow – we will reap. We have His Word on it.
My friends, in our natural world, we are in sowing/ planting season – perhaps, some of us are in sowing or planting season in our spiritual life as well. If that is you, prepare your garden, sow your seeds, keep the weeds out and watch your harvest spring forth. It is my prayer for you that an abundant harvest comes into your hands this very season – so much harvest that it lasts you for years to come. In Jesus name. Amen.
