The ability of a child of God to be persistent as he cultivates the habit of constantly sowing seeds, is what will eventually get him rooted and grounded, with a constant abundance of overflow in the harvest from God. But it’s so much easier for a farmer to sow seeds on his farm, than the harvesting of his crops itself. On the other hand many children of God today are struggling to sow seeds; therefore their slothfulness and inconsistencies in sowing seeds is affecting their expected harvest.
But the professional farmer knows that sowing seeds, is vital to the prosperity of his farming business. It’s easier for a farmer to sow seeds on his farm, even though he does know that the harvesting time will be much more difficult. And most of the time he’s putting on a great smile on his face, as he goes out into the farm for the harvest. He knows that his labor for the harvest will not be in vain. The harvesting season gives him the opportunity to have more seeds on hand for the next planting season. So he goes into it rejoicing.
However it doesn’t make common sense to see a farmer sowing seeds in the middle of a drought. But the Bible tells us that Isaac was once instructed by God, to do exactly what was so impossible and uncommon in his world. He sowed and reaped a bountiful harvest in the time of famine (see Genesis 26).
Only God can lead you to do a thing like that. And in leading you, He will give you the exact instruction, which must be followed to get the expected result. The ability of a believer to listen and hear such instruction, is the secret that’s needed as he follows through in his complete obedience to God.
I remember some years ago during a very severe El Niño in West Texas, when many of the local ranchers were so busy selling their cows at giveaway prices to the slaughter houses. I happened to be in an area, where I saw a farmer who was actually doing good in the middle of the drought. Everything on his farm was very green. His cows were busy feeding on his field.
This farmer was prosperous while all his neighbors were struggling, as they were absorbing the heat of the severe drought. The soil on their farms were completely dried out. The drought was so several in the middle of the hot Texas summer weather, to the extent that it was hard to even breathe. The soil on the ground was so hard and breaking up all around the farmlands. There was no life in it.
But this farmer caught my attention. He absolutely had a story to tell me about the green pasture, that he is blessed with in the middle of a drought. So I decided to stop by on his farm; only to find out that he was indeed a Cowboy Preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He Pastors one of the biggest Cowboy Churches in West Texas.
During my conversation with this Preacher-farmer, he looked at me on one occasion and told me sternly:
“Nothing grows in the natural common world during the El Niño in Texas. If anyone ever wants to be fruitful in this area of Texas; you don’t ever have to be living in the natural, common sense world that all the folks around here are living in”.
He then went on:
“They do call me – that “crazy Preacher”. But I do know better not to pay attention to them. I don’t live in their world. So I don’t really care what they think about me”.
The result explains it all for me to see. He was living in abundance, while others around him were suffering from the effect of the severe drought.
He told me that if only his neighbors had listened to him, they would not had been facing the situation they were in. He had witnessed several times to them, prayed for them in their homes when they were sick, and the Lord had healed them on several occasions. But they just won’t come to Church whenever he invited them. He told me that they always had an excuse for not coming.
He told me that if only they had been coming to Church, they would had learnt the secret to his success from the pulpit. He was indeed fruitful and prosperous, while others around him were whining and complaining about the drought. Several of them were even considering quitting their farming businesses, for something else in the cities around them.
During the wonderful fellowship that I had with this man of God, he explained to me how the Lord had instructed him, to prepare for the drought before it came. He had obeyed God by digging a bore hole on the exact location of his farm, that the Lord had showed to him in a dream. He was later able to use the bore hole to develop an irrigation system, that works on his farm every time the El Niño season comes. The bore hole has an abundance of water, that has never dried up till today.
The result of his act of obedience was a great blessing for me to see. His life became a testimony to the other farmers around him. This farmer sows every time in the middle of the El Niño, and it was evident that this was the doing of the Lord. But others around him remained critical of his success.
He is indeed a blessed man. He however confessed to me that the sowing part was much easier to do. But he told me that, he was looking forward for the harvest with some concerns, as he would be needing more hands to help him on the farm. There is always a lot of work to do during the harvest season. And it’s not that easy to get help in that area of Texas, because most people normally migrate out of the area during the El Nino, to get factory jobs in the neighboring cities.
We are reminded of these words from Jesus about the harvest to the disciples:
“The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Luke 10:2 NIV
You’ll need to be prepared for the harvest
And it’s just the same thing that applies to the harvesting of your financial fruit, after you’d sowed your seeds. The process of the harvesting demands that, you are standing solidly on the promises of God for your righteous harvest. God has harvesters assigned for your harvest to be brought to you. But you will have to release them through your prayers and your faith.
Somebody somewhere has your harvest, but that person can’t release it until your prayer and faith moves the angels, in giving instruction to the person to act on your behalf. That’s why the angels do rely on your ability to stand in prayer and faith, so as to be able to breakthrough to those who are holding onto your harvest. Angels don’t have the faith that you have. Neither can they say your prayer for you. It’s your Christian duty to do these things.
Unfortunately many Christians will often sow seeds, but without continuing constantly and persistently in releasing words for their angels to act on. They will sow just one seed and be expecting a bountiful harvest. Have you ever seen a farmer sow a seed of corn in the soil, while expecting so much from it? If the farmer doesn’t expect much by sowing just one seed, why are you expecting a lot when you have not yet been found faithful with God?
This process of the harvest is where many have missed out of their abundant overflow, because the harvest that you will receive is always determined by, how you are standing on the promises of God for you.
The harvest season is always much more glorious, than the season when you sowed the seeds itself. The ability of a believer to reap a bountiful harvest comes with rejoicing, and not by being wary or worrisome during the harvest. The more joyful and excited you are about the harvest, the more bountifully the angels will ensure that your harvest overflows.
Amazingly enough certain Christians do often struggle to even sow seeds. They will struggle by being slothful in sowing seeds, and they will do the same as their harvest season approaches. This is the trick of the devil to keep them underprepared for the harvest itself. He knows that when you are not prepared for the harvest, he will succeed in stopping you from doing much damage to him with the harvest.
Whenever a believer in Christ sows seeds, he does not need to be wary about the harvesting of what is sown. God will make the seed to grow anyway. There is a sure harvest on the way coming. You just need to cultivate the right attitude before the Lord for the harvest. And most importantly the angels will direct helpers across your pathway for the harvest (see Matthew 13:39). Just let the joy of the Lord continually fill your heart. Don’t let the devil steal your joy away from you.
Be willing and obedient to sow and reap the harvest
Now it’s the willingness of the heart to sow a seed, that causes the sower to be fruitful in bringing the harvest in. The Bible says:
“If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;”
Isaiah 1:19 NKJV
In this scripture text you will see that, the willingness of heart comes before the actual act of obedience. And as a result of this you will eat of the prosperity of the land during the harvest time.
It’s a willing heart that enjoys the blessing. An unwilling heart will always struggle to sow seeds. An unwilling heart will not sow seeds, even in the midst of abundance. This is the attitude of the heart that thrives wherever there is fear. Whereas on the other hand a willing heart prospers, wherever faith is present and activated.
A fear dominated heart will always be slothful and unwilling to obey God. Unwillingness of the heart will cause the seeds to get scotched by the enemy, especially if you are sowing in tears or during financial difficulties. The fear of unfruitfulness will kill the seed, as soon as it touches the soil.
As the scripture says:
“They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”
Jeremiah 12:13 NIV
This is what happens to those who are unwilling and slothful to obey God. But for those who are joyful and willing before Him, even during the hard and difficult times of sowing seeds; the Lord says:
“Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.”
Psalm 126:5-6 NIV
And just as the harvest is predicated by the willingness of the heart to sow seeds persistently in obedience to God; the lack of financial resources or indebtedness can also be predicated by the judgement of God towards an unwilling heart. Judgement comes as a result of the unwillingness of the heart, to sow seeds in direct or indirect disobedience to God. It comes as a result of seeds sown with an unwilling and slothful heart. The harvest thereof is the judgement of God.
Many do have financial problems today because of this. In most cases it’s not the devil’s fault, but their unwillingness to obey God; which is causing them lack and indebtedness.
God will always bless anyone who is fully and completely yielded to obey Him. But the heart that is slothful to walk in obedience to Him will be judged accordingly. Slothfulness to obey God is disobedience to Him. There is no other way to put it. Slothfulness is an act of unwillingness to obey God; even though the sower knows that, it’s God’s will for him to sow the seed. A slothful heart is a lazy heart. And such a person should not even be expecting any harvest. As King Solomon once wrote:
“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
Proverbs 10:4 NIV
A diligent hand here refers to anyone who is smart enough to recognize the voice of God, and who is quickly willing to obey Him. He follows God’s voice diligently to do what He says, and the harvest is guaranteed for him.
The angels of God can only function to the extent, that such a Christian is quick to obey God’s voice. Once the angels sees his act of quick obedience to God’s voice, they swing into action to bring him the expected harvest. The Psalmist says:
“Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.”
Psalms 103:20 NLT
The angels knows what God has directed you to do. If you will be quick to obey God, then your harvest will be quickened also. Therefore just as the harvest is a consequence of the good seeds which are willingly sown; poverty comes also as a consequence of the seeds of constant unwillingness and disobedience to God.
No matter what you’re going through financially right now, understand that biblical prosperity comes only to those, who are willing to obey God’s voice to them personally in sowing seeds. They recognize that sowing seeds is what makes their harvest bountiful. They are never afraid of sowing. They put their trust in God’s word to them, without consideration to what their circumstances may look like. And it’s never about the amount that they are sowing. But it’s all about the attitude of their hearts in obedience to God.
These are the ones who do know that, as long as they are living here on the earth, seed time and harvest time will never cease. They know that this is the way that their act of obedience overflows into an abundance of prosperity and righteousness in their lives. They don’t look up to people, nor do they consider the system of the world around them. They are looking up to God – putting their trust in Him alone.
As the scriptures says:
“Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor.”
Psalm 112:6-9 NIV
The horn of those who have scattered their seeds to the poor around them, will be lifted up in their honor by God. This is the pathway of the righteous to godly prosperity. Live by following it at all times.
