Seedtime Before Harvest

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest … shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). We often hear the word harvest and immediately look for what is ready to gather. But a harvest has a beginning: seed must be sown, and the ground must be ready to receive it.

As I pray about 5787, I believe God is emphasizing seedtime for the church. Some may say, “We have already sown enough. Surely it is time to reap.” I understand that longing. Yet we must not assume that yesterday’s sowing removes today’s assignment. I believe the plow is before us because God is preparing ground for seeds that still need to be planted.

This calls for understanding of the times. The sons of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). If we call this a harvest season when God is asking us to sow, we may overlook the people and places He has put before us. We can wait for fruit while leaving the ground untouched.

Sowing may look like teaching children the Word of God, praying faithfully for a community, speaking to one person about Jesus, or rebuilding trust where the church has lost it. Some of this work will be unseen. That does not make it fruitless. We sow in obedience, trusting God with the growth and the harvest.

There is also a danger in treating seedtime as a reason to delay. Once we have sought the Lord and recognized where He is directing us, we must act. The point of breaking up fallow ground is to sow into it. Prayer and discernment should bring us to faithful action.

Apply this to your life. What have you been waiting to receive while God is asking you to plant? In your ministry, what people need patient attention now? In your family or work, what conversation, act of service, or step of faith have you postponed? Ask God to identify the seed in your hand and the ground before you. Then sow.