The Harvest is Plentiful

Here in South Dakota it's harvest season . . . it’s still harvest season.  

It's been a difficult harvest for the farmers. There has been too much rain leading to too much mud. There's been early snow.  There's been record breaking cold weather. And all of that has lead to a harvest that is still out in the fields. When they should just be wrapping up, there is still a long way to go.

The harvest is plentiful.  It's abundant - not record breaking by any means - but there are good yields coming in on the corn and soybeans.

The harvest is plentiful but this year the harvesting is also really difficult.

It's downright hard and probably frustrating and I'm quite certain many a local farmer has been at it until three and four in the morning more nights than they'd care to remember.

But do you know what no farmer ever said?

It's too hard, let's just forget about the harvest.
It's too late. Let's just go in and go to bed.
It's too frustrating.  Let's just give up.

You'll never hear those words from a farmer because their job - their calling - is to bring in the harvest.

Jesus said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

I've been convicted of my own sense of laziness and softness as I've watched - and helped a little - as my family works to bring in the harvest.  They carry with them a stubborn perseverance, a tenacity and focus that I would do well to learn from.

As I pray for 2,000 Muslims to have an opportunity to hear the gospel here in our region and as I work to do my part to see the 3 billion who have never heard the gospel have a chance to hear it, will I grab hold of the vision and stick with it with everything I've got until it becomes a reality or until I die?

Jesus makes two statements in this verse:

1. The harvest is plentiful and
2. I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

 

• He in no way promises that the harvest will be an easy harvest.
• He in no way promises that the harvest will be a safe harvest.
• He in no way promises that the harvest will be a comfortable harvest.

He tells us to open our eyes and look to the fields.  They are ripe for harvest! (John 4:35)

The work of salvation is the exclusive work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus tells his disciples in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day," and later in John 12:32 says, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  

And so while the work is God's to do, he invites us into that  work as He sends us into the world as his witnesses and ambassadors (John 17:18; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

The question is, will I pour my life into bringing in the harvest?

Will I dedicate my time and shun distraction and learn what I need to learn and rest when I need to rest and pray like everything depends on it because there is an abundant harvest in the field and the Father wants me to be about the work of bringing it in.

It's my prayer that I will continue to grow in my dedication to the harvest.  

It's the Father's heart!

What about You?

Will you pray that your hearts would be shaped more and more like the Father's heart? 
 
Will you pray that your hearts would be broken more and more for lostness?

And will you pray that we all begin to live with the same kind of urgency and focus and stubborn perseverance for the lost locally, nationally and globally that our local farmers have for the harvest sitting out in the field.

Action Steps
Here are a few things you can do to begin to grow your heart for the harvest.

Pray Luke 10:2 - Set an alarm on your watch or phone that goes off every day at 10:02 and commit to obeying Jesus and praying for the harvest.

Pray for your network - On a note card write down the names of everyone you know who is far from God and commit to praying for them every day.

Discover - Read and Meditate on the following passages in scripture:  Luke 15; John 17; Matthew 28:16-20; Genesis 12:1-4)

Discover - Read the book of Acts once a week for the next four weeks (4 chapters a day).

​

Was this article helpful? -- Click here to subscribe to the blog.