A Bountiful Harvest

A Bountiful Harvest

Women Bringing In The Crops

Read: Psalm 126:5-6

All summer, I impatiently watched my backyard. Because of rainy weather and family obligations, my husband and I had been late in getting our garden planted. Then, an unusually dry summer made for slow growth. I bought fresh vegetables in the grocery store and at the local farmers’ market, but I couldn’t wait to pick them from our own garden. Finally, the tomatoes turned red, the squash turned yellow, and the green peppers grew big enough to pick. It had been a long time coming, but the harvest was worth the wait.

Harvest must have been a special time for the women in Bible times too. They couldn’t just run to the grocery store to pick something up for a meal. Since they had no refrigerators or freezers, they had to gather and preserve as much food as they could during the harvest. Women worked in the fields to reap barley and wheat. They must have looked forward to the joyful celebration that accompanied the harvest.

Sometimes we get tired of waiting for a spiritual harvest. We ask God over and over to resolve a difficult situation, but nothing seems to happen. We do our best to overcome a sinful habit and get discouraged when we slip once again. We spend years trying to share our faith with a neighbor but get no response. It’s hard to keep praying and living a godly life when we don’t see results. But God promises that if we keep on trusting him, he will send a bountiful harvest at the right time. We will reap some blessings in this life, but the full harvest will come when we stand before Christ’s judgment seat to receive our rewards. Right now it may seem a long time in coming, but it will be a harvest worth waiting for.

Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Galatians 6:9