Maple trees burst forth with golden-bronze highlights.
Leaves dance as beechnuts fall to the ground.
Red tinges the tips of burning bushes.
Pumpkin patches set ablaze with orange, plump fruit.
My favorite time of year. Fall. It always brings to mind the seasonal word harvest.
Nature goes through its seasons, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” (NKJV)
Just as nature, we, as Christians, have circumstances that bring rain, sunshine, heat, cold, storm, calm, dryness, fire, and flood. Our aim is to always work toward having a spiritual harvest, no matter what the circumstantial season.
But how do we produce the luscious harvest God desires for our lives?
God once whispered to my heart…
“If the ground is not turned, I cannot plant My seeds. A life as a lovely green meadow with its abundance of wild flowers is a fair picture of beauty. But there’s more to be had from the rich soil lying beneath the surface blanket of a lovely green pasture. Cultivating this meadow can produce a harvest of fruit, of nourishment, of good things for others.
“The Hand of the One tilling the soil is the One Who loves it the most and sees the greatest potential in it for a harvest. The roots of unwanted growth beneath the surface must be ripped out that the ground might be tilled and furrowed. This gives room to accept the seeds of new growth and eventually welcome a beautiful, golden field of harvest, waving its ripened grain in the breeze.
“A life in the Hands of the One guiding the plow will display a fruitful meadow. When it is uprooted and turned over, it welcomes the plantings of the Master Husbandman and gladdens the hearts of others with its lovely field of harvest.”
What is damaging the harvest in your life? Hmmm. Do you have any roots of unwanted growth? I know I do.
Any roots of bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, jealousy, judging, gossip, complaining, doubt, worry, or hypocrisy, among other things, will destroy the possibility of an abundant, spiritual growth and harvest. The roots of unwanted growth must be ripped out in order to have good soil.
Jesus explained the good soil in the Parable of the Sower, “But the good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a plentiful harvest for God – thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as was planted in their hearts.” (Mark 4:20 TLB)
What are you harvesting? Is the soil of your heart producing what it should? Or maybe you have a mixed crop, having planted negative seeds in with the positive seeds?
God told Israel, “Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.” (Deut. 22:9 NIV)
Reproducing the character of God in our lives requires the planting of His Seed-Word in our hearts, not the seeds the world spits at us. There can only be one Seed in our hearts!
Don’t like the crop you’re growing? Maybe its time to check those seed bags! Paul tells us, “Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds!” (Gal. 6:7-8a MSG)
If we want our lives to have an abundant harvest spilling over with ripe fruit, we need to rip out the old roots and weeds and plant God’s seeds. Then, we will see a bumper crop at harvest time, for “the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” (Gal. 6:8b MSG)
“A life in the Hands of the One guiding the plow will display a fruitful meadow.” May your life be cultivated by the Husbandman that it may “produce a harvest of fruit, of nourishment, of good things for others.”
And may your harvest be plentiful!
Lynn writes devotionals and inspirational stories. She has one book waiting to be published in 2015 and is working on a second one. Her greatest passion is to fulfill God’s call on her life to encourage others and glorify the Lord with her writing. She currently writes for several sites and writes bi-weekly on her site, Heading Home. http://lynnmosher.com
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- The Cranky Bride - October 25, 2016
