It Takes Faith to Reap!

Jesus spoke much about farming and sowing seeds. After all, the people He was teaching were farmers. It was a concept they understood perfectly. It was their life. The rhythm of their days, nights, and seasons revolved around seedtime and harvest. In Mark 4:26-29, it says, “And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows-how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

What was He trying to say? That God’s kingdom functions the same way sowing seeds into the earth functions. There is a part for a man to play, without that no harvest will manifest. That it would take some time, it would not manifest overnight. And that there is an unseen part that God has to play that they have to simply trust in Him to do. To trust the part they can not see but believe is working if they do their part. That an inactive faith can’t produce a harvest by itself. That we must plant the seeds, water, and tend to them daily and in due season, REAP. Faith is like a seed. We plant so many seeds in every area of our lives, sometimes not even knowingly, but yet we do. The seeds are simply what we believe. We must water that belief with the Word. Tend to it with our words. And then reap or bring it in with our thanksgiving.

First, things contrary will come to try to steal the seeds. They must be protected from birds and other small critters that try to dig up the seeds to eat them. The enemy tries to get you to walk away from what you’ve planted. He’ll whisper that “It’s too hard. It seems so small and insignificant. That nothing great could come from those seeds.” Once the seeds start to produce a small crop, bigger animals, like deer, and rabbits will try to eat what has grown. So, we put fences around it and glass domes to accelerate the sunshine’s ability. We take measures to protect the crop from an early frost that would affect it before it’s full grown for harvesting. It’s how the earth is set up; to create, to produce if the conditions are met. That’s God’s part. But once it is ready we would be foolish to look at it and say, “Isn’t that a great harvest! I’m so blessed with that!” and then just walk away and let it rot in the field. No! Once it’s ready WE must use our muscles to put in the sickle to bring it in. It will take more muscle at the end, when it’s so close to manifestation than at the beginning. That’s why you can’t quit! You’ve seen your answer, your supply, your promise grow so much. So, don’t give up! Continue to declare God’s promises over your prayer seeds. Keep thanking Him that He is working behind the scenes to bring your harvest to pass. It will work out your spiritual muscles when you refuse to listen to the lies of the enemy, or your emotions and instead declare the Word, by faith until what you are believing for is in your hands! It takes just as much faith to reap as it did to sow!~Be Blessed, Jenny