PRAYER PROMPT ••• “You reap what you sow.”
Both Christians and secularists have been quoting this for generations.
Obviously, it’s a farming reference… if you plant tomatoes, you’ll harvest tomatoes.
We all know it’s a mental reference too… if you fill your head with negativity, you will be a negative person.
And so on and so on.
We can use the analogy for any situation, and of course, it can be compared to our spiritual lives.
It’s a useful truth but the downside to this phrase is when we make mistakes, recognize them, and still have to reap the consequences.
For example, my family raised me in the church and gave me a strong, spiritual foundation.
And then, just as they should have seen a bumper crop for all their efforts, I walked away.
It took the better part of 20 years before the spiritual crop truly grew in me.
Twenty years they had to pray for me before they saw the results of what they taught me as a child.
During my years away from my faith, I made decisions that I have to reap the results of today.
By the world’s standards, they are small issues, but for me – they are monumental.
I wish desperately at times for a do-over.
To take advantage of 20/20 hindsight and see if the outcome could be different.
I cling to the faithfulness of God when I become overwhelmed by regret.
Because even amid the consequences we have to live with, God promises to work for good.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
When you reap what you sow, but wish you’d made different decisions about what you planted – take heart.
God is working it all out.
Today, as you pray, ask God to help you look for the good in the bad choices that have yielded a less than desirable crop.
Ask Him to help you trust in His plan, even if you can’t possibly see what good will come from it.
