What’s going on everyone!! God really does work in ways that we don’t always understand. I was sitting around the house on Tuesday night at around 10:30pm, racking my brain on what I wanted to write about for this week. I needed to slow myself down, calm my thoughts, and ask God what He wanted me to write about. The topic of farming came to my mind and it brought me back to a conversation that I had on my birthday, July 2nd (Happy Birthday to me hahaha). But my friend asked me what I wanted out of this year of turning 26. I told him that I wanted this year to be called “The Year of Planting”. To me, this means that I want to give more to the desires and places where God has me planted right now. I do not need to search for celebrity, but rather, I need to plant in being faithful where I am. I believe that God is calling us to dig our roots deep in where He has us.
I get the visual of a farmer. A farmer’s role is to dig into the ground, plant fruits and vegetables as well as other crops, and to harvest those crops. The farmer first preps the ground for crops to be planted. The crops need to be placed in the right soil so that they can flourish and produce from that soil. In order to do that, the farmer must get rocks, weeds, and anything else that could potentially limit or eliminate any kind of product to be harvested. After the ground has been prepped, the farmer will begin to plant the crops, in expectation that they will yield offspring that will be plentiful. The farmer must take care of his space. The farmer needs proper water, sunlight, and continual upkeep of the field so that he will reap a harvest. After months and months of tending the ground, the farmer should expect a plentiful harvest to provide for whoever needs it.
I believe that we need to take our walk with Christ after the farmer. In order to really reap a harvest spiritually, we must water our hearts with the word and continual time with our Maker. We must weed out all things that are not of God. We must get the rocks (sin) out of our hearts as well. Again, we do these things by spending quality time with the Lord, as well as digging into a local church and solid community. We must constantly till the ground to prep for harvest. With our lives, we must rid ourselves of the junk that we are susceptible to when we become absent from tending our fields (1 Peter 2:1). This means that when we really dig into our time with God, our eyes become open to see His heart for us, and how we should live our lives to glorify Him. Our main harvest is people that come to Christ because they see how we love each other, and how fulfilling a life with Jesus is. We cannot be lackadaisical in tending to our fields, and putting in the work to produce fruit. Scripture even talks about this, when Jesus says, ” AM THE LIVING GOD, The Vine, and you are the branches; whoever abides with me and I in him, this one brings forth much fruit, because without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). This is so strong because Jesus literally tells us that when we abide in Him, or as we tend our fields correctly, there is no other choice but to bear good fruit.
The farmer is such an amazing perspective to look at our walk. Our field is our life, and we must tend to it with care, and consistency. If we desire to have a significant harvest, we must put in the work to receive it. We also should ask God to help us get rid of anything that could limit the harvest in our lives. We have the strength and wisdom of Christ inside of us, so we have the power to continually grow closer to God, since He is our source. As always, if anyone at all needs prayer or encouragement for ANYTHING at all, please don’t hesitate to comment or DM me on any social media (ryanmw92 on Twitter and Instagram, mainly).
Much Love,
Ryan W.
