Isaiah 55:8-11

Something I am learning over and over lately is the Biblical truth about 'sowing seeds' into people's lives. Think of a farmer for a minute. They spend an incredible amount of time preparing the soil, long before planting seeds. Then after planting, they wait. They continue to work the land, removing weeds, and fertilizing the growth of the plant. In the end, harvest comes months after they started.

As a pastor, I am hungry for harvest. And by that I mean, I want to see so many people come to the point where the Gospel becomes real in their life and they follow Jesus with everything. I'm impatient for that, and believe that everytime I present the Gospel, 'harvest' will happen. I pray with expectation and wait in anticipation for God to move.

But here's something that God is teaching me right now. That often times, when I present the Gospel, I am planting seeds in lives. When I think back to how many times I heard the Good News of Jesus before I ever received Him, well, it was a lot of times to say the least. Last night, God brought me to the following verses, as if to speak directly into my life. This is exactly what I needed to hear from Him last night. Isaiah 55:8-11.

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I love the analogy that God paints in these verses. Think of how far away time-wise the 'snow' is from when 'harvest' happens, let alone when the wheat is turned into bread. That doesn't happen in one month. It happens over seasons of time.

The 'harvest' is based on God's timing, not mine. We are to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and wait in expectation. We aren't to grow weary, but push forward knowing that God's Word doesn't return empty, and ultimately that He is one that changes lives. He's God, and I am not, and frankly, I'm more than good with that arrangement. :)