What’s This? It’s a Harvest!

I remember this scene well from growing up on a farm: This is what a harvest looks like … about 3-4 months prior to it happening.

The gardener may have been hungry when he or she planted these seeds. They may have been in difficult circumstances. Who knows what was happening then? But when harvest comes, everything changes. Moods change. Schedules change. And EXPECTATIONS change.

Harvest brings an expectation of reaping a reward for labor invested. And regardless of the harvest, it is a GOOD feeling. Whether it is one tomato plant or ten acres of assorted vegetables, the harvest feeling is the same. It is always the same because there is only one reason to sow seed for a crop–and that is to reap a harvest.

What if the harvest is slow to come? What if a lack of rainfall hinders it or prevents it altogether? Then disappointment is the result. (Been there too.)

It is the same in our lives. We do things to reap a harvest, get a reward, or accomplish a goal. You go to work (sowing your time) to reap a harvest of a paycheck. You spend time with someone (sowing quality time) to reap a harvest of a better relationship.

We seldom do anything without an expectation of some form of reward for our effort. And this is as it should be. It is not selfish; it is just the way life works. Sowing and reaping, giving and taking, doing to get in some form or another, is the principle on which God’s Creation operates. Always has been; always will be.

You can see it everywhere you look. We even see it mirrored in physics. Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Do this, and that occurs as a result, just as in sowing and reaping.

But what happens when circumstances of life delay or prevent our harvest, return, response, etc.? Worse yet, what if it is stolen? Then we are understandably disappointed. Such an occurrence breaks the system.

When the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! How we laughed, how we sang for joy! Then the other nations said about us, “The LORD did great things for them.” Indeed, he did great things for us; how happy we were! LORD, make us prosperous again, just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds. Let those who wept as they planted their crops, gather the harvest with joy! Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed will come back singing for joy, as they bring in the harvest. (Psa 126:1-6 GNB)

Today’s Scripture passage implies such disappointment and describes the joy that comes when the expectation is restored. This especially caught my attention: “Let those who wept as they planted their crops, gather the harvest with joy!”

Isn’t that so much like our lives at times? If your expectation has been delayed, prevented, or even stolen, do not give up. Give it to God. Even give Him the expectation itself. If it is restored, you will have joy. If not, then know that God in His wisdom is doing something greater than what you can now see or know to expect.

It will come in time. How much time? Only He knows. This I know from experience: He will always do what He promises for our good–regardless of circumstances. If it doesn’t seem so, then you just haven’t waited long enough.

I have learned that if He does not restore as I hope for or expect, He will work in the circumstances for my good in the end, and it will be better than I expected. (I always discovered that there was always a reason why things worked out as they did.)

How much time between the disappointment and the joy? Again, you probably will not know on this side. Whenever it occurs, however, it will be better than you could have expected–if you can continue to trust Him in the process and not cut it short before it is completed.

Read today’s passage. Let the joy they experienced imprint on your awareness. Know that it can be yours as well. Look forward to it. Expect it. As Habakkuk said in Hab 2:3(b), “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

It will not delay from God’s perspective, that is. Although it is not easy, let His perspective become yours as much as you can. Then, when your harvest or expectation seems to be delayed, know that God is working in the situation for your best as you trust Him to do so.

Get ready for your harvest. And don’t let the journey steal your joy before it comes!