PURSUING A GOD-GIVEN VISION by Gary Wilkerson
In Haggai 2:15-16, the children of Israel were having difficulty constructing a building. Their cry was, "We needed fifty measures of material for this building but we got only twenty measures."
Does this seem to describe your own life or calling? You need certain "measures" to accomplish what God has set before you, but you get only a part of it. You hope for one amount but receive a smaller one.
God has a message for you: He wants to supply for us what we cannot supply for ourselves. Indeed, Jesus tells us the Father longs to double our harvest. In John 4:35 we see Jesus and His disciples walking near some grain fields. He pointed to the fields and said to His followers, "The fields are ready for harvest, so don't say that there is going to be a harvest four months from now. Lift up your eyes, for the harvest is ready now."
The disciples were perplexed. They saw that the plants were only half grown and thought, "Anyone with common sense can see these fields are nowhere near ready for harvest." But Jesus was talking about the harvest of souls for God's kingdom.
The lesson of the harvest has a broader meaning for our lives. To us, it has to do with God's kingdom purposes. Jesus is telling us, "You don't have to wait four months to overcome your sin or have a burning passion for Me. I have made all those things available to you right now. It is impossible to you in your own strength and ability, but I am expediting all things and there can be no excuses among those who follow Me."
I have a question for every student or young working person reading this. Do you say to yourself, "I'll wait till I graduate before I stop drinking"? Maybe you say, "I'll wait till I'm older to stop sleeping around and settle down in marriage." Or, "I just want to taste a little more of the world before I give my all to Jesus."
Jesus' lesson of the harvest fields declares to all who would follow Him: "Now is the time." This lesson of the harvest addresses every human excuse: "There is no waiting in My kingdom. If you wait four months, the harvest will pass you by. Don't let any excuse sidetrack you. In my kingdom, today is the day. Now is My time for My calling on you to be fulfilled."
If this is true of you, I offer a challenge. Write down your excuse on a piece of paper and read it for the last time. Then crumple that paper and toss it into the trash and say, "I'm leaving that excuse behind me. I have no more excuses. Jesus says His harvest in my life is ripe right now."
Does this seem to describe your own life or calling? You need certain "measures" to accomplish what God has set before you, but you get only a part of it. You hope for one amount but receive a smaller one.
God has a message for you: He wants to supply for us what we cannot supply for ourselves. Indeed, Jesus tells us the Father longs to double our harvest. In John 4:35 we see Jesus and His disciples walking near some grain fields. He pointed to the fields and said to His followers, "The fields are ready for harvest, so don't say that there is going to be a harvest four months from now. Lift up your eyes, for the harvest is ready now."
The disciples were perplexed. They saw that the plants were only half grown and thought, "Anyone with common sense can see these fields are nowhere near ready for harvest." But Jesus was talking about the harvest of souls for God's kingdom.
The lesson of the harvest has a broader meaning for our lives. To us, it has to do with God's kingdom purposes. Jesus is telling us, "You don't have to wait four months to overcome your sin or have a burning passion for Me. I have made all those things available to you right now. It is impossible to you in your own strength and ability, but I am expediting all things and there can be no excuses among those who follow Me."
I have a question for every student or young working person reading this. Do you say to yourself, "I'll wait till I graduate before I stop drinking"? Maybe you say, "I'll wait till I'm older to stop sleeping around and settle down in marriage." Or, "I just want to taste a little more of the world before I give my all to Jesus."
Jesus' lesson of the harvest fields declares to all who would follow Him: "Now is the time." This lesson of the harvest addresses every human excuse: "There is no waiting in My kingdom. If you wait four months, the harvest will pass you by. Don't let any excuse sidetrack you. In my kingdom, today is the day. Now is My time for My calling on you to be fulfilled."
If this is true of you, I offer a challenge. Write down your excuse on a piece of paper and read it for the last time. Then crumple that paper and toss it into the trash and say, "I'm leaving that excuse behind me. I have no more excuses. Jesus says His harvest in my life is ripe right now."