Patient in the Change

The cold winter winds are growing warm. The field surrounding my house has been planted. Soon beans will be popping up from the fresh turned soil. The farmers do their work according to the seasons. The seasons change and so does the work that lies before the farmer. They work in hope of the harvest.

Genesis 8:22 says  “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” The earth keeps spinning in its rotation around the sun ushering in seasons of change through the passing years. And so it is with our lives.  As things change around us, we must react appropriately to ensure a plentiful harvest of saved souls.

We plant our garden in hope of a harvest in the fall. We teach our children when they are young in hope of a harvest of righteousness in their lives as they mature. (See Proverbs 22:6)  We invest our money in hopes of an inheritance to give to our children. (Proverbs 17:14). We gently instruct those who don’t know God’s Word, “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.” (See 2 Timothy 2:5)

Sometimes, change doesn’t happen fast enough for our liking. We want to plant one day and reap the next but it takes more time then that. We want our children to act mature sooner than they will. We want our investments to grow quicker then they do. We want to teach someone about the Bible once and for them to accept it immediately. We expect the new Christian to be completely mature in Christ the day after his baptism, but we must wait for the seasons of change to slowly come to fulfillment. A harvest takes time.

James 5:7-8 reminds us, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” 

Sometimes change comes too fast. Sometimes, we have been lazy and have not prepared ourselves for the inevitable change that is coming.  Proverbs 20:4 warns us that “A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.”  For some a harvest never comes, because they never planted.  Other times the fields are white unto harvest, but God’s people ignore the work that needs to be done. There is a limited time to plant and a limited opportunity to harvest. God’s people must be ready in season and out of season to preach the Word (See 2 Timothy 4:2) for a harvest of souls.

Sometimes we want to give up. Seasons change too quickly or too slowly for our liking and we become discouraged. However, the law of the harvest is an undeniable principle built into how this world operates.  You will reap what you sow. Keep planting. Be Patient. Keep watering and weeding. Be prepared in season and out of season, and be ready for a harvest of righteousness. It will come, so don’t give up.

Galatians 6:7-9 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his flesh, from that flesh will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”