“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” - Galatians 6:9
We are living in a fast-pace culture. We are accustomed to getting immediate results. We use the drive-thru at a restaurant, expect quick shipping on an order and avoid long lines at the grocery store checkout.
Yet there are certain things you cannot rush. You cannot speed up the process of growth. It takes time for a garden to grow. While we'd like to enjoy a harvest in springtime, we must wait until summer for the full harvest to arrive.
The same thing is true spiritually. As we ask God to use us to positively impact the lives of others for His glory, the actual process may take a long time. When God uses us, eternal investments are being made, much of which will not bring dividends until we get to heaven. While we desire immediate results, often results don't come until the future.
God sometimes blesses us with an immediate answer to prayer or positive conversation with an unbeliever. While we are thankful for such grace, we must recognize that there may be a vast harvest yet ahead for us.
In Galatians 6:9, Paul encourages us to never give up, because, “in due season we shall reap.” The Bible never specifies the duration of the “due season.” It may be a month, a year, a decade or long after we're called to glory. While it is exciting to hear others boast of immediate results, we should not let the barrenness of today tempt us to quit. The harvest we seek could be a prayer away.
George Mueller once said, “I have been praying every day for fifty-two years for two men, sons of a friend of my youth. They are not converted yet, but they will be!” The last of these two men was converted soon after Mueller's death. Mueller was making eternal investments and the harvest came!
Perhaps you invest in a 401k program at work. You make financial contributions with the intent of having plenty of money available in that account when you retire. When you make a contribution to a 401k plan, you are investing for the future.
When you share the Gospel with an unbeliever, give away a Gospel track or invite someone to church, you are making eternal investments. These investments may bring forth a spiritual harvest at some point in the future. God may reveal the full harvest to us in heaven some day.
In this life, we need to concentrate on sowing. Sow good seed every day. Sow generously, because the more you sow the bigger the harvest will be. Sow expectantly, trusting God to bless the seed with growth. Sow continuously, making it a habit to invest in the lives of those around you.
Don't get discouraged when results don't seem promising. Don't quit when times get tough. Continue sowing. Keep on investing in others. Pour your life into those God has placed around you.
God never promised immediate results, but He did promise that we'd reap what we've sown. We can trust Him with the seeds we sow.
Ultimately, God deserves the praise when we enjoy a harvest. He is the only One who can use our feeble efforts in the process of producing a harvest. Like Paul wrote, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
If God chooses to use me to make an eternal difference in someone's life, He definitely deserves the credit. I long for Him to use me to make eternal investments in the lives of others. Each day, I want to sow good seed with a future harvest in mind. I want to make eternal investments.
What about you?
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