Episode #68 What To Do When You’re Waiting For Harvest – Seed Sowing Summer

Hi friends. We are continuing in our seed sowing summer, and so if you're just joining us here on the Good God Talks podcast, welcome. I'm Jen. I'm so glad that you're here and I am in a season where my two young boys are home with me over the summer. But no matter what your summer looks like for you, God has things that are in store both to sow into you and your family and to produce a harvest in your life in this season. And so, we're talking with him about it as we go through these summer weeks.

Today we're talking about what I consider somewhat of an unfortunate reality, and that is that we don't usually get to harvest in the same season that we plant. Most of the time, the seeds that we're planting produce a harvest in a later season. And you can see this come to play when you think about the actual plants and produce that are grown in the earth.

It would be great if we could sow a seed, wake up in the morning, and it's already produced, a hundredfold harvest. But most of the time we're tilling soil, we're planting seeds, we're watering, we're waiting, we're letting it grow. The fruit needs to mature before it can get to the season of harvesting at a later time.

I can tend to be a little bit impatient about that, really in all of the areas of my life. And so, some of the lessons learned in this area, really come down to trusting God in the waiting and the growing seasons. Seeing the value in telling the soil and seeing the value in continuing to plant the seeds, even if I'm in a season of waiting for the harvest. And the truth is, in physical produce, most of the time we know what those seasons are going to look like. There's x number of weeks or months until we complete the cycle from planting the seed to harvesting the crop.

But when it comes to our spiritual formation, when it comes to character development or instilling values in our kids, those things can have longer or just less defined cultivation seasons. And so, they can require extenuating patience for us to navigate them.

I'll read for us from James 5:7-8, and the context of this passage is really exhorting believers to be patient in suffering. But I see how this applies even in waiting for growth, and you'll see what I mean. Starting in verse seven it says,

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." (James 5:7-8 ESV)

Or in another translation, "patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains." (NIV)

Sometimes we grow in that patience simply by having an awareness. I need to wait for this harvest in a future season. I'm not going to see an immediate result from this. I can experience that really tangibly with our kids because I want them to learn a lesson now. I want them to stop talking when I'm talking now. I don't know how many times we'll need to revisit the conversation or how many times they'll clarify their understanding. I've yet to fully experience the harvest of that lesson that I keep sowing into their lives. I'm joking about their learning lesson, but I have lessons like that in my own life.

There are so many areas of my life and ministry where God reminds me, Hey, you're sowing seeds here. Be patient to receive the harvest later. Hey, you're getting discouraged about this area right now. But remember what season you're in. You're in a season of planting seeds, or you're in a season of tilling the soil, or you're in a season of growing. Be patient for the harvest to come later.

If you are frustrated or discouraged in any way because you haven't seen the results or the rewards of your efforts yet, take heart. Patience is trusting God to continue to bring the growth that we're waiting for in the seeds that have already been planted. Sometimes it gets just a little bit easier if we're able to hear him confirm to us the season that we're in. And so, let's talk with him about it.

God, will you talk with me about the season that I'm in and how I can participate in cultivating a future harvest?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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