The sanctified life is one that includes discouragement,
temptations, and trials; this is because every life includes discouragement,
temptations, and trials. Jesus himself
prayed saying “I pray not that thou take
them out of the world but keep them from the evil of the world.” Among the more discouraging notions in my opinion is the idea of “lack of harvest” or “lack of reaping”. The devil will have you believe that because
you don’t see souls flooding the alter or people filling the benches on Sunday
then you are simply not doing it right.
He will tell you “clearly, God has left your ministry because there is
no visible fruit.” This is a convenient
lie because sometimes God will leave the ministry and there will be no fruit,
but that does not automatically mean that because there is no visible fruit
then God is not there. Let us consider
the words of Christ below spoken directly to his disciples:
“38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye
bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”
– John 4:38
In South Georgia there is a specific
occupation that comes available around the May/June time period. This occupation is known as “chunkin
melons”. Every year around the beginning
of summer watermelon farmers hire young strong men to walk through their fields
and throw ripe water melons into the back of a truck. These men are “reaping whereon they have bestowed no labour.” They did none of the sowing, but are
experiencing all of the reaping. Now, do
you think the farm hands that were instrumental in the planting are resentful
of the “melon chunkers” in the harvesting?
NO! Of course not, because the
end goal remains the same for both parties, and that is to bring in the harvest
for the owner of the land. Furthermore,
if a farmhand does not get the call to take part in the melon chunkin do you
think they would feel discouraged and not want to plant come next planting
season? If they do, they should not;
because the object of it all is to labor for the land owner to bring in a good
crop! Granted, harvest is often more
rewarding than planting, but no matter, no discouragement should accompany
either occupation because both should be focused ever on the ultimate goal.
Satan’s lies when placed against the
backdrop of the scripture will always appear out of place. Why should we worry, fret, and feel
discouraged when there is no fruit? If
we are truly working for the “land owner” and doing His will in all things,
then the season in which we labor is not our concern. You might be planting and laboring for
another who is instructed to come and reap down the road. Furthermore, (those who are reaping
currently) take no pride or arrogance in this, you may be simply gathering the
fruit of those who labored before you; praise God for the season you are called
into whether planting or reaping. Noah
was a preacher of righteousness and saved only eight souls, Peter preached one
sermon and saved three thousand. What
then? Is Peter a better preacher than
Noah? Do you think Peter boasted of the
souls that he saved to Noah when he walked through the gates of heaven? Or rather did they rejoice because they were
counted as “good and faithful servants.”
May God help us to take the word of
God and go forward, laboring in the season where we are called; and look not to
the lack of numbers or visitors as reason to doubt, but rather look to Jesus. Look to Him no matter what season we find
ourselves in and let not the devil discourage us in planting (or reaping, or
anywhere in between). Let us look to
Jesus in all things, in feast or famine, in planting or reaping, for truly “God adds to the church daily such as should
be saved.”
