Plant Now and Be Patient
By Rick Warren
“Let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.” Galatians 6:9 (GNT)
The time to start planting is now.
I talk to people all the time who say, “One of these days, I’m going to . . . ” They’re going to serve more or give more when they retire, or when they get a raise—one of these days.
But “one of these days” is none of these days. You can’t wait for things to get better; you need to start planting now. Why? Because the sooner you plant, the longer you’re going to enjoy the harvest in your life.
But the harvest is not always going to come in your time. There’s always a delay between sowing and reaping. You plant in one season, and you harvest in another.
You have to be patient and not give up!
This is one of the principles that the Kingdom of God operates on. In Mark 4:26-28, Jesus says, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head” (NIV).
The results will come, but they will come slowly and as part of a process. And because it takes time, you have to choose to be patient: “Let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest” (Galatians 6:9 GNT).
Choose to forget about last year’s crop failure. Instead, start focusing on the long-term harvest in your life. If you’re in financial difficulty, you didn’t get that way overnight. You took years to mess things up, and it’s going to take a while to put things back together. There is a time of delay between sowing and reaping.
The Bible says in Psalm 126:5-6, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest” (NLT).
What loss have you been grieving over? Maybe you’ve lost your job. Maybe you’ve lost your health. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one. Maybe you’ve lost your savings. Maybe you’ve lost half of your retirement in the last few years. Maybe you’ve lost your dream.
Mourning is okay; moaning is not. Instead of moaning, get moving!
Today is the day to plant the seed.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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