Are you into gardening? I’m certainly not. But I remember some large gardens my parents and grandparents planted when I was in middle school. At that age, I found it fun to join in and lend a helping hand. I was probably more in the way than helpful but I’m glad they let me participate. During the process, I learned that gardening is a lot of hard work but if all goes well, the reward of the labor makes it worthwhile. Of course, it’s still easier to buy the veggies at the produce market, right?
From my vast gardening experience, I also learned the basic rule of planting and reaping – you reap what you sow. It’s a deep revelation. What you put into the ground is what you are going to get out of the ground. If you want watermelon don’t plant beet seed. It’s really quite simple. And it is as true about life as it is about gardening. Grant Bright said it this way, “You reap what you sow: Life is like a boomerang. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later, with astounding accuracy.”
Yet sometimes in the garden of life, you get some things you didn’t plant. Not everything you are dealing with is a direct result of a decision you made or an action on your part. I remember when this truth first became real to me. In a back office of the church in Asheville, NC when Bro. Hall looked directly at me and said, “Son, we not only reap what we sow, but we also reap what others around us sow.”
The thought was new to me. I certainly knew the principle of reaping and sowing. I could easily quote Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that He will also reap.” I understood that every human would reap from the seed they sow. It is an undeniable and unchangeable law of God that remains in effect as long as the earth exists. [See Genesis 8:22]
Who Planted This?
But the idea that we also reap from the seed of others – wow! This statement explained some things. Many times, I wondered about the “why” of things happening in my life and in the lives of others. The personal issues of our lives should first move us to search our hearts and to humble ourselves before the Lord. We must ask Him to examine us, reveal any wrongs, and not only forgive us but also free us. If the problem is with us, our Lord will reveal it and show us how to deal with it and get back to sowing the right stuff.
Many times, maybe most, the problem is indeed of our own making. But at times, the harvest we reap is a result of someone else’s seed. Like Joshua and Caleb, we reap the wrong choices and the willful rebellion of those around us. Do you remember what happened to these champions of faith? The account is found in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Numbers. when ten of their comrades brought what the Bible calls, an evil report, to Israel. [Numbers 13:32 KJV]
Joshua and Caleb’s Harvest
The ten refused to believe that Israel could possess the land God promised them. They refused to believe that God could do in them and through them all He said. As a result of their rebellious unbelief, they were denied entry into the promised place and consigned to death in the wilderness. It took forty years to complete the sentence, and during that forty years, Joshua and Caleb wandered in the desert with their comrades and attended their funerals.
Two men of faith reaped a forty-year harvest of doubt. It wasn’t their seed at all. Both Joshua and Caleb are on record as fully believing God’s promise and boldly proclaiming, “We can do this!” Nevertheless, they couldn’t enter into the promised land until their generation passed. They suffered a huge delay through no fault of their own. Perhaps you are in a similar position. Your promises were within your grasp, but circumstances didn’t fully line up and you find yourself still reaching. Don’t be dismayed. You can outlast the delay!
Remember: delay is not denial! Because Joshua and Caleb didn’t join in sowing the seed of unbelief but sowed the seed of faith, they eventually reaped the great harvest of breakthrough, abundance, and promises realized! While there is no escape from receiving of the bad seed sown by others, ultimately, it is the seed we sow we will reap! Don’t be deceived, in the end; it is our choices that bring us to destiny.
Humility And Courage
Of course, It isn’t just on the negative side. We also reap good things that we didn’t plant. Others before us and around us did the right things, walked with God by faith and we get to harvest their seed. Jesus said, “I sent you to reap a crop for which you did not labor. And you have benefited from their labor.”[John 4:38] There are blessings that we enjoyed and are enjoying which had nothing or little to do with us. Hallelujah!
Remember that your life is ultimately the reaping of choices made and seed sown. But it also includes the seed of others. Therefore, when you are enjoying the victories of success, walk with humility. It is possible that you are reaping much good as a result of others who labored in the sowing. And when you are walking through tough times of suffering, be encouraged. You may only be temporarily reaping the bad choices of others. Take heart. This delay is not denial. Keep walking. Stay the course. Continue to sow the good seed of faith. The day of abundance is just ahead, and you will reap the good harvest!
*For more information about “Bro. Hall” follow this link: https://keithnix.net/the-tension-of-success/
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Keith Nix is the founding lead pastor of a thriving congregation, The Lift Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. [Visit www.TheLiftChurch.tv] He has traveled internationally since 1993 carrying a unique prophetic message of awakening to this generation. He and his wife, Margie, have one daughter, Isabella.
