The Harvest
A couple years ago I read an impactful book which changed my life and helped in prioritizing my personal faith journey with Christ. I sat with God every morning with ease, prayed without ceasing, was given opportunities to encourage others and had the privilege of witnessing God at work through me. It was one of the richest seasons of my life. Fruit bearing vines were plentiful…how good the harvest was wasn’t my goal, my focus was on my Father.
But then something happened… I began to notice the harvest. I saw the fruit hanging from the vines and there was a small drip of pride in what I had been apart of. Overtime the small drip turned into a trickle and I made my time alone with God less and less a priority. My faith in Him never wavered, but my daily devotion and focus altered because deep down, I saw the harvest at my feet and in a way felt I had enough crops in hand to withstand for a time.
So it was ok if I slept in…
It was ok if I rushed through a prayer because I had a mountain of things to do…
It was ok if I didn’t read my Bible daily, I’d read through it a couple times already…
It was ok if I made a judgment call, I’m a very careful person…
It was ok if I ate that, I’d had a rough day and needed a pick me up….
What does any true farmer do after they reap a plentiful harvest? From what I have heard they rest very little. My great-grandfather was a remarkable farmer who did not stop working. When the harvest was bad, he began preparing his fields for the next crop. When the harvest was good he began preparing his fields for the next crop. Even an excellent harvest will run out… and the fields must always be prepared for the next season…if not you will experience a form of famine. A scarcity of food…so then you must go to the store and purchase what another was diligent in preparing for.
I had to face the raw reality that I was coasting from a fruit filled season, and then while I did not neglect my personal walk with Christ, I had prioritized Him a little less than the previous season. I had been lazy in my daily routine with Him - unintentionally relying on my reserves to walk through each day. So what did God do? He allowed me to experience what it feels like to have a not-so-plentiful harvest. No one starved, but I felt a noticeable weakness from within.
Why am I sharing all of this? Because I believe we all have a tendency to rely on reserves, intentionally or not, because sometimes it’s simply easier and less demanding on our daily routine. If you asked my great-grandfather, would you like to go to Disney World to celebrate such an awesome harvest, he would probably laugh - use a few colorful words - and with a smile head straight back to his fields to begin preparing them for the next crop. Is it easy to prepare a field, sow seeds, protect and tend to the crops as they grow?...no…not easy. But far better for your body, mind and soul in the long run. And if it is part of your daily routine, it becomes like breathing. You can’t stop breathing and thrive. Your body, mind and soul can’t thrive, producing fruit for each season without a routine which has you reaching for God in everything. Am I saying you can never make time to celebrate a fruit-filled season?…NO. I am saying don’t allow the success of a precious harvest replace or water down your daily need for God in your life.
When God created the garden, He made Adam and Eve in His image. What did God do next? He walked with them in the garden. What did the enemy do? Made it his focus to interrupt the daily walk with God.
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called out to the man,“Where are you?”
Genesis 3:8-9
God came into the garden looking for Adam and Eve. Could it be that was when He would go for a walk with them through the garden on a daily basis?
When the enemy succeeded in separating mankind from God, death entered into the world. Before I continue…can we pause and praise God for not giving up on us then.
God shows us time and time again in His word when a person walks closely with Him, they will have life and bear much fruit for whatever season they are in. He doesn’t want for us to use reserves from one intentional season to coast through the next. Meet Him in your garden daily. Rise and reach for Him.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
If you find yourself in a season with little to no harvest and you aren't quite sure where to begin, if I can encourage you to start on your knees in complete surrender. Don't allow fear to keep you from the Father as Adam and Eve did. Once you have surrendered and asked for forgiveness, consider putting into practice the steps below as shared in a previous Reach for More written by Shelby:
In prayer – even for a couple minutes daily.
In His Word – start with a chapter a day.
In stillness – even if 15 minutes - step away from the rush of every day to ground your heart to Him. Reset. Slow down.
My friends no matter the season you are in, whether you prepared your fields or not, there is good news for you. When you humble yourself before Him, He will meet you in the garden with grace. You may not have a bountiful harvest, but He will provide what you need, body-mind-soul for each day you choose to reach for Him first and foremost. And once this practice becomes as essential as the need to breathe…you will get to witness seasons of plentiful harvests.
And on that day may you not let anything, not even yourself, get between you and your daily walk through the garden with your Father.
