Did the Harvest Come?

Wow! This year is just a few hours from ending. It's always hard to believe how quickly it came and went...

I've been reading some past posts reminiscing about the theme the Lord gave for this year. And I've asked myself the question...over the last 12 months, did God do what He said He would do? Was there any reaping from past seeds sown? Did the harvest come in my life?

I have to testify to the faithfulness of the Lord! There's really not enough time nor space here to tell how great our God is. As the songwriter once penned:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song."

In so many ways....YES, YES, YES...this was a year of harvest for me! I know, some of you are thinking...you've got to be joking. This year, if anything, was a year of famine, crunching numbers, skimping, downsizing, shrinking back and cutting corners. Well, yes, it was that for much of the world in which we live. And those adjectives truthfully describe our situation as a nation that did affect me and my family to some degree in 2009. Nationally, many salaries were cut, jobs were lost, and for many industries, businesses and ministries, drastic financial changes had to be made in order to get through this year. Interesting, isn't it? That we would have such a year realistically when the Lord so surely spoke a year of harvest over my life (and all who would believe) at the beginning of this year.

But...God is an expert at supernaturally producing abundance out of our lack (Psalm 23:1).

Hebrews 12 opens with a charge to throw off everything that hinders our race and to fix our eyes of Jesus who endured...therefore, we can endure. We learn from this passage that as sons and daughters of the King, we are being instructed (chastened, nurtured) by our Father as we grow up in Him. And this nurturing (otherwise referred to in the NIV as the dreaded word "discipline") is painful. But, God only instructs in order to work good in my life and yours, and according to verse 10 - it is designed to bring about holiness. In verse 11, we're told that instruction "produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

From the day we're born until the day we die we are being nurtured by God if we are His sons and daughters. Because of His GREAT love He desires to teach us His ways that are so much higher and greater and holier than ours. And sometimes His teachings are tough. But listen again to what God is trying to accomplish..."it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace..." For all? Unfortunately, not for all. Then for whom? "...for those who have been trained by it." And, verse 12 and 13 show us that the result of that training or yielding to Him is strength and healing. "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." I love that! And I believe that when we yield to the discipline of the Lord and are trained by it (or learn from it), God will not only heal us but He'll use us to bring healing to others.

Yes, the harvest has been plentiful this year! The goodness of the Lord has been overflowing. The Spirit of the Lord has been evidenced so often and in so many ways. But being an eyewitness to the power of the Lord in a life only makes you want MORE! I want to see more of Him in 2010; I want to walk closer to Him than ever before; I want to know Him more and be ready for whatever lies ahead! Don't you?

Listen to Psalm 67,

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations...

I've prayed for many years that the Lord would give me a love and hunger to see the nations worship Him. I want to be mission minded (even though I've never been outside the US). God has moved in my heart to pray for the nations that the good news of salvation would be spread abroad so that lives would be changed and healing would come to the broken, poor and oppressed. Since Tyler left for the Middle East, every time I read the word "nations" or sing about the "nations" immediately I think of where he is and God pricks my heart for that nation that they would turn to Him. (Read on in Psalm 67...)

May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him."

Praise has much to do with reaping the harvest! As we begin a New Year let's make living a life of worship, that is, worship of the One true and living God, the Most High God and His Son, Jesus Christ our number one priority! Then...the land will yield its harvest!