Never the Same.

We Will Dance Together in the Harvest

     He was frustrated. The farmer, a man who loved his job, had been sowing seeds in his twenty-one acre field for the past three years without any major harvest. The drought in his region was killing him. He was trying his best, working for hours each day to grow vegetation to supply for his family, but it seemed like he was getting absolutely nowhere. The farmer was a great family man, always spending every afternoon with his wife and children. They all loved him very much and were very patient with him through their lack of many of the things they wanted. One Tuesday afternoon, the farmer grew so frustrated that he decided that he would quit farming and move to the city to find a job at a factory if he did not see signs of a great harvest coming this year, even though he loved his job as a farmer. 

     Well, it didn’t happen. There were absolutely no signs of a harvest to come that year. Two months after that Tuesday afternoon decision, the farmer sat his wife down and told her that he didn’t think that he could do it anymore. He told her about his frustrations with the lack of a great harvest and how he hated seeing his family lacking. His wife— so kind and gentle to her husband, always serving him with a glad and sincere heart— told him that she had been praying for him and their twenty-one acre field and that she felt in her heart that he shouldn’t give up. She shared words with him that challenged him not to give up: “Right now in this time of growth and struggle, you’re just sowing the fields, and I can’t wait to dance in the harvest with you.” 

     The farmer didn’t give up and he was glad that he didn’t! That year, he had the greatest harvest of his life! All of his hard work paid off as he was able to bless his family with all the things they needed and more. The family danced in the fields together and celebrated God’s love and provision, they even thanked Him for the struggle and drought because it brought their family closer, made them even more thankful, and brought them to a greater sense of joy and deeper worship of their creator. 

Maybe you aren’t a farmer struggling with a lack of vegetation, but you are struggling and are frustrated because you are doing everything that God has called you to do and there seems to be no results. You’re praying and telling all of your friends about Jesus, but none of them are getting saved. You’re in college and you are stressing out about your grades. You’re in ministry and you’re pouring your life into your congregation and there seems to be no growth. You’re trying to start a project and no one will get involved. You’re struggling financially in a painful way. Whatever you’re going through, the words of Paul in Galatians 6:9 are very powerful and can comfort you in a huge way:

“Do not grow tired of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

What a beautiful promise! God does not promise that we will be healthy, wealthy, or without lack in this life, but He is faithful and if he has called you to do something, He is telling you not to give up. He will fulfill His promise, whether you are around to see it or not. Keep trusting Him through the struggle and the pain. He will get you through it and you will thank Him for the growth.