As We Sow, Shall We Also Reap?

It’s a basic principle of life: What goes around comes around. The Bible refers to it in terms of “sowing and reaping”. Sometimes it’s stated in the form of a warning:

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” - Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)

Fair enough. Let any who would scoff at the Almighty take heed; they won’t get away with it forever. But what about non-scoffers, without desire nor intention to ever mock God? Thankfully, the concept is still valid in the other direction. As the next verse explains:

“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.“- Galatians 6:8 (NKJV)

There is, however, something to beware of even in good, spiritual sowing:

Our ability to reap is not guaranteed.

Tragic, but true, and many reap not, because the time for harvest, the time to reap, doesn’t come immediately. Meanwhile, many get discouraged. Many lose patience. Many do not persevere. The enemy of our souls and the trials of life all work together in a vast conspiracy to get us to give up.

As long as we’re wise to this strategy, let’s not play right into it. In every area of life that we await that spiritual harvest, be it with family, friends, work or faithful service to our Master, let’s commit to stay committed. Don’t quit. Our capacity to not lose heart is the thing that guarantees a fruitful harvest.

May the Lord Jesus Christ grant you the grace and perseverance to become an abundantly joyful reaper.

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.“- Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

From http://dckoso.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/as-we-sow-shall-we-also-reap/.

Life is Difficult: A Lesson from the Life of Job

Life is difficult. That blunt, three-word statement is an accurate appraisal of our existence on this earth. When the writer of the biblical book named Job picked up his stylus to write his story, he could have begun with a similar-sounding and equally blunt sentence, "Life is unfair."

No one could argue the point that life is punctuated with hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But unfair? Something kicks in, deep within most of us, making it almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what's unfair. Our drive for justice overrides our patience with pain.

Life is not just difficult, it's downright unfair. Welcome to Job's world.

Job was a man of unparalleled and genuine piety. He was also a man of well-deserved prosperity. He was a godly gentleman, extremely wealthy, a fine husband, and a faithful father. In a quick and brutal sweep of back-to-back calamities, Job was reduced to a twisted mass of brokenness and grief. The extraordinary accumulation of disasters that hit him would have been enough to finish off any one of us today.

Job is left bankrupt, homeless, helpless, and childless. He's left standing beside the ten fresh graves of his now-dead children in a windswept valley. His wife is heaving deep sobs of grief as she kneels beside him, having just heard him say, "Whether our God gives to us or takes everything from us, we will follow Him." She leans over and secretly whispers, "Why don't you just curse God and die?"

His misery turns to mystery with God's silence. If the words of his so-called friends are hard to hear, the silence of God becomes downright intolerable. Not until the thirty-eighth chapter of the book does God finally break the silence, however long that took. Even if it were just a few months, try to imagine. You've become the object of your alleged friends' accusations, and the heavens are brass as you plead for answers from the Almighty, who remains mysteriously mute. Nothing comes to you by way of comfort. It's all so unfair; you've done nothing to deserve such anguish.

Pause and ponder their grief - and remember that Job has done nothing to deserve such unbearable pain. If it had been you, how would you have responded?

Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, "Life Is Difficult," in Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing, 2005), 226. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lessons on Living

Author: Woodrow Kroll
Source: Lessons on Living From Esther
Scripture Reference: Esther 1:17-18

Esther 1:17-18

"For the queen's behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.' This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king's officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath."

Keep Your Cool

Overreacting can have unexpected results. One mother related that she came home from a shopping trip to find her five children in a huddle. Curious as to what could be so intriguing, she slipped up behind them and peeked over their shoulders. To her horror she saw the kids had captured five baby skunks. "Quick, children, run!" she shouted. Thinking some disaster was about to happen, they scattered to all parts of the house--each with a baby skunk in his arms. The mother's overreaction insured that every room got its share of the spray.

When King Ahasuerus' advisors overreacted, they created an equally odious situation. What could have been merely a personal family matter was blown into an issue of national security. Consequently, their suggestion to remove Vashti as queen (v. 19) far exceeded the crime.

Often the intensity of the moment causes situations to loom far larger than they really are. When we overreact to such circumstances, sometimes justice gets trampled in the stampede. Then we regret our responses when we later view them more objectively.

Are there things in your life that seem unbearable? Does someone always rub you the wrong way? Before you overreact, ask God to show you His purpose in your frustrations. View them with eternity's telescope. Get God's viewpoint before you react.

A moment of prayerful reflection can prevent a lifetime of bitter regret.