The Lord convicted my heart this morning.
He did so through this passage from Isaiah:
“Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?” (Isaiah 28:24)
Countless Christian congregations — and the believers who comprise them — have learned over the years to plow and plow and plow in the fields of unsaved people at work or school or in the neighborhood.
We’ve learned to cultivate the soil by removing stumbling blocks from our lives and pulling weeds and watering our lives with the Living Water of scripture.
We’ve learned well the art of “being” Christian. We’ve learned well how to have clean-cut congregations that are organized and have big, beautiful barns.
But have we “done” Christianity’s primary task? Have we made disciples?
Such won’t happen if we plow and cultivate, plow and cultivate but we never sow and never plant.
I recognize that I need to do more of this.
A farmer sitting on his porch in the evening and looking at his neatly plowed, weedless field would not be content with knowing that no seeds have been placed into the soil.
That would be crazy.
The seeds aren’t going to march on their own from the grain sack into the field and into the ground in the proper way.
Somebody has to plant the seed.
You and I are that somebody.
The reality is that you and I already know that we are that somebody and have known that for a long time.
Our challenge is to start planting more seeds rather than sitting on the porch and admiring our neatly plowed, weedless fields and beautiful barns.
That’s why we need to press into the Lord more than ever with prayer for wisdom.
Wisdom with how to approach hard soil, rocky soil, weed-corrupted soil and also the fertile soil.
God will give us wisdom for planting if we’ll seek it.
He’ll give us eyes to see opportunities that we didn’t see before — if we’ll pray that He does.
He’ll give us boldness to seize opportunities that we didn’t seize before — if we’ll pray that He does.
“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and He gives the farmer great wisdom.” (Isaiah 28:29)
I want to be a more faithful farmer. And so I need more of God’s great wisdom.
Please join me in praying today to become a better farmer so that Lord can have a bigger harvest.
As always, I love you
Martin
