Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  NKJV

           Sowing and reaping is a very real truth in life.  I would venture that not one person who reads this could not use a positive harvest of some kind in their lives.  The reality is that a harvest is coming because we have sown seeds in our lives that will produce a good harvest or a bad one.  That fact makes it vital that we understand harvest.

In the natural we can readily understand the laws of harvest. So why is it that we sometimes fail to understand them in the spiritual?  The more I study the Laws of Harvest the more I realize that those laws are universal and affect the believer and unbeliever.  However, believers have a greater promise and hope but the principles apply to both.  I would like you to engage in a brief consideration of the Law of Harvest and see if it can prove beneficial in your life.  I will mention a number of things in passing and trust that if the resonate with you they will be pursued in greater depth in your studies.

• Seed Must Be Sown Before You Can Expect A Harvest.

John 12:24 – “…except a grain of wheat falls into the ground… it abides alone…”  Remembering a basic principle that we reap what we so, more than we sow and later than we sow it is easy to realize this applies to every dimension of our lives.  If we do not sow we do not reap.

• The Seed Sown Must Be Rendered Useless.

John 12:24 – “…except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies… it abides alone.”

The seed enters into a state of uselessness to the planter once it is sown.  It cannot be eaten or otherwise used.  IT DIES!  At that point the process of multiplication begins.  It leaves your control once sown.

• The Seed Sown Determines The Type of Harvest.

Genesis 1:12 – “…herb yielding seed AFTER HIS KIND.”  What you plant determines what you harvest.

• The Size of the Harvest is Determined at the Time of Sowing.

2 Corinthians 9:6 – “…a farmer who plants just a few seed will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.”  (TLB)

Simply, you cannot wait until the day of harvest or need to determine the size of your harvest.  That determination is made at the time of planting.  Now I don’t know about you but it would seem that abundance is better than shortage so let that be your sowing rule.

• The Seed Must Be Sown in Good Soil.

Matthew 13:8 – “…other (seed) fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”

In agriculture only good ground produces good crops.  Why would we think that anything but ‘good ground’ spiritually would produce good crops?  Remember Luke 6:38 that what we give we get in kind and in abundance.

• Harvest Is Always After Sowing and Never Before.

In Mark 4:26-27 we are taught that we sow then the seed sprouts and grows even if we do not understand how.  I am convinced that about the only ‘instant harvest’ is received by planting a big smile, all others seem to take time.   Ecclesiastes 11:1 tells us that if we cast our bread upon the waters; we will find it after many days.  Patience is essential.  If we become impatient and dig up our seed to see what is happening we will negate the harvest.

Galatians 6:9 – “…let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”   That is a key component in your harvest – – DON’T QUIT!  DON’T GIVE UP! 

We will pause there and pick up tomorrow with a further look at the Law of Harvest and how it applies to us and our part in the process.   May the Lord bless you richly is my prayer!