Are your eyes open to see the harvest in front of you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
(John 4:35 (NIV))

Every member of the Body of Christ is guilty of this in one form or another. We pray that God will use us to further His kingdom. When we pray this, we expect it to come at some point in the future and to be a great service that we can offer up to God. Our intentions are good, yet, we miss the opportunities that God places in our very presence each and every day because we have our eyes focused on a “grand” mission at some point in the future.

We need to open our eyes and see the opportunities that God has already placed in our midst. He is trying to use us where we are and we are ignoring it because we have focused on what we think we should be doing. When this happens, we miss out on the opportunities that God really desires to use us in.

This bring to mind the parable of the talents. The opportunities that God places in front of us are the talents that He has entrusted to us. If we use those talents wisely, He will give us more. In other words, we must open our eyes and trust God where we are and not where we want Him to take us. If we can’t trust Him where we are, what makes you think that He is willing to trust us where we want to be?

Are your eyes open to see the harvest in front of you?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you ready and willing to gather for the harvest?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
(Proverbs 10:5 (NIV))

When I read this passage today, I froze!

We are all aware of the physical world implications of this passage. The thoughts of an actual harvest are important, especially when you consider that the harvest was the in-gathering of all crops for the year. The very crops that were to be prepared and stored for food during the coming months. It was, and is, important to have everyone take part in this activity so that nothing was missed, so that nothing was cast aside because there weren’t enough workers to bring in the full harvest. Sleeping, or being lazy, was not an option. It was a disgrace to do such a thing. The very survival of the family and the community depended on everyone working.

What hit me today with this passage are the spiritual implications of these very words.

How many times have you read passages where Jesus talks about the harvest?

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
(Luke 10:2 (NIV))

Think about something for me.

If we have received Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we are called sons and daughters of God. Does that mean that we get a free ride, that we get to sit back and watch everyone else bring in the harvest? If we do just that, I honestly believe that we would be disgraceful sons and daughters.

We must each do our part so that the full harvest is brought in.

Are you ready and willing to gather for the harvest?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery