Let the “winter” of your heart be watered by the Word every day.
Is this a season where the harvest of your efforts doesn’t seem as fruitful as you hoped? You’ve poured into your marriage, family, career, and even your walk with God, but are left with feelings of weariness and doubt. If so, please know you aren’t alone.
From my personal seasons of waiting and expectation, I’ve learned that there are times when the harvest doesn’t seem plentiful but there is still an abundance of God’s blessings to reap.
Here are a few important things to remember as you navigate seasons of disappointment and lack:
You’re a Prepper
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but every time there’s upheaval in the world, my husband and I go on a shopping spree for canned goods, dried foods, and toilet paper. In fact, we just used up the last of the Covid crisis toilet paper! We’re not doomsday preppers by any definition of the word, but we do have more canned tuna than we’d like to admit.
When it feels like your harvest isn’t plentiful, and panic starts to set in, remember that you’re a natural-born prepper. God has given you every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, and He has supplied everything you need. He is your Jehovah-Jireh, your Provider.
Your spiritual shelves are lined with seeds of faith, fruits of the Spirit, and a harvest of righteousness. It was Jesus who said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). This is a reminder that if God’s blessings seem scarce these days, it’s because the enemy has come to steal from you.
Trust God in this season of lack and see that the storage room of your heart is filled to the full with an abundance of His love. When you begin to count your blessings, from smallest to greatest, you’ll see how Jesus truly has given you life and life to the full. Be the prepper He’s created you to be by storing up provisions of His mercy, which is new every morning.
You’re a Sower
Have you ever asked God for more seeds to sow? Recently, my mentor encouraged me to pray for hands full of seeds so that my gifts and talents might be shared with more people. In turn, the harvest of my obedience will become plentiful as He sees fit. What a beautiful way to look at sowing and reaping!
Instead of being disappointed in the harvest of your efforts, remember the precious seed you still have to sow. These are seeds of God’s truth, love, and spiritual gifts that are to be scattered in the world. You never know which tiny seeds will take root and be watered by the Father for a glorious harvest! Your job is to open your hands of faith and ask God for as much seed as you can handle. Then, one by one, scatter them along the way, trusting the Lord to cause them to take root and flourish under His mighty hand.
You, my friend, are a sower unto righteousness, and even if you don’t get to see the harvest, you can know that God is growing and expanding your field according to His glory. What a beautiful crop of abundant grace you’ve been given, as you continue to sow seeds of faith.
You’re a Cultivator
How many of you water or fertilize your grass in the winter? I’ve noticed that those with the prettiest green lawns in the spring are careful to cultivate their yards throughout the winter months. Unfortunately, my husband and I aren’t quite so diligent and usually spend most of the spring and summer trying to revive the dead-looking grass.
However, this is a powerful word picture of the seasons of life when it seems like things are barren and dry. It’s important to keep feeding and watering, even when our efforts seem fruitless.
Keep encouraging, even when you feel discouraged.
Keep praying, even when you run out of words to pray.
Keep believing, even while admitting, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Remember, some of the most formative and important growth takes place beneath the soil unseen. The surface might look bare, but underneath, amazing things are taking place. Hearts are being softened by the gentle touch of the Holy Spirit and minds are being transformed by God’s truth.
Let the “winter” of your heart be watered by the Word every day. Know that it is taking root and growing in the quiet, gentle places where God’s Spirit dwells. He is feeding your soul with peace, patience, and trust so that when it’s time to push through the soil, you’ll be strong enough to break through.
You’re a Harvester
Imagine waking up one morning to a garden full of vegetables ready to be harvested. This is what happened to me the summer I was pregnant with my youngest son. I’d planted zucchini seeds along the back of the house, but because of my terrible morning sickness, I was unable to water or care for them. In fact, I forgot all about those seeds until three months later when I looked outside and saw giant zucchini ready to be picked!
When your harvest doesn’t seem plentiful, and you’ve all but given up, take heart! God can do amazing things with a few forgotten seeds. In fact, the tiniest mustard seed of faith can grow to be one of the tallest trees in the field.
The Lord made you to be a harvester, to gather the bushels of crops He provides in due season. No matter how long it takes for the harvest to come, don’t let the enemy cause you to doubt God’s faithfulness. Keep trusting and believing.
The familiar passage in Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” This goes for your harvest as well. You can trust God to produce a crop thirty, sixty, or one hundred-fold!
Your precious fields need cultivation. Whether it be your marriage, your children, or your career, every territory God has blessed you with needs your skillful hands of faith to keep cultivating. Pull from the storage room of God’s abundance. Sow with open hands overflowing with seed. Continue to feed and water the dry and thirsty land. You never know what beautiful and miraculous thing is happening underneath the surface! Eventually, you will reap a plentiful harvest as the Lord sees fit. You can count on it!
A prayer for your harvest:
Heavenly Father, please encourage this dear reader today no matter what difficult season they’re in. I ask that You will strengthen their faith so that they will continue to sow the seeds of Your love to others. Let them not grow weary in doing good, for according to Your Word, they will reap a harvest if they do not give up (Galatians 6:9). We trust You in all things and look to You for provision in the days ahead. In Jesus’ holy and precious name, amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Shaiith
