Your Season of Harvest

I’ve never been more convinced that God is a good God, and He wants to bless His children in every area of their lives. Yet many well-meaning Christians still embrace the lie that God takes pleasure in giving them financial lack instead of abundance.

The consequences of this false belief system are tragic:

• The lives of God’s children display poverty and lack instead of being a testimony of their Heavenly Father’s faithful provision.
• Believers and their families undergo needless stress because of inadequate income.
• God’s Kingdom receives inadequate funding to reach the world with the Gospel.

The Bible describes the devil as a thief (John 10:10) and a liar (John 8:44). Ever since the Garden of Eden, he has tried to slander God and convince people the Lord doesn’t want to give them His best.

It all began when Satan planted a seed of doubt concerning the truthfulness of God’s Word: “Has God indeed said…?” (Genesis 3:1). In the same way, the devil attempts to undermine our faith today by causing us to doubt God’s promises to bless us.

Seeing God Correctly

A crucial ingredient in receiving God’s abundance is accurately seeing Him as our loving Heavenly Father. That’s why the enemy works so hard to discredit God’s integrity and faithfulness.

Perhaps you’re one of many who received a distorted view of your Heavenly Father because of negative experiences with your earthly father. If your earthly father lied to you…neglected you…abused you…abandoned you…or was stingy toward you, you may have a tendency to see God through that same distorted lens.

Yet Jesus taught that even “evil” earthly parents want their children to be blessed (Matthew 7:7-11). What parent would want their children to grow up poor, naked, uneducated, dirty, or hungry? Instead, we all want our children to grow up prosperous, well clothed, intelligent, well groomed, and well fed. How could God want anything less?

Psalm 35:27 declares: “Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” That means you don’t have to twist God’s arm to bless you. He delights in seeing you and all His children prosper!

However, some Christians seem convinced the Lord delights in their poverty…their suffering…and their distress. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you subconsciously see God as a Scrooge or Taskmaster, you’ve got it all wrong. Ask the Lord to show you who He really is. Read His Word, enter His presence through worship and prayer, and spend time with Godly people who reflect the true character of your Heavenly Father.

Learning God’s Ways

Psalm 103:7 tells us that God “made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” In the same way today, many believers are focused on getting God to act on their behalf, yet they haven’t taken time to learn “His ways.”

Throughout the Bible, you’ll find God saying, “I’ll do this…if you’ll do that.” He gives us incredible promises as part of our covenant relationship with Him, but these promises are conditional on some step of faith and obedience on our part.

For example, one of God’s primary methods of blessing His people is through Seedtime and Harvest, a principle God says “shall not cease” as long as the earth remains (Genesis 8:22). The Seedtime and Harvest principle is not only found throughout Scripture, but it’s also an established law of nature.

What farmer would expect to harvest a crop if he hasn’t first planted any seeds? Yet many of us try to claim God’s amazing Covenant Blessings, even when we’re not faithfully Sowing Seeds into His Kingdom! Once our Seeds are Sown, He is able to bless and multiply them. But it’s impossible for a harvest to start until something is Sown!

Although Seedtime and Harvest is one of the clearest precepts in the Bible—first mentioned in the creation account (Genesis 1:11)—it’s under vicious attacks by critics. “It’s selfish and materialistic,” they argue, “to think you should GIVE in order to GET!”

But Jesus Himself clearly taught this very thing:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38).

So what are you waiting for? If you want to receive a future Harvest, there’s no better time than today to start planting Seeds! The critics will pass away, but the law of Seedtime and Harvest will remain.

Special Seasons of Harvest

Although God can give you a breakthrough anytime He wants to, the Israelites recognized the rhythm or cycles of Sowing Seeds and Reaping Harvests. They expected special blessings during the three major feast times each year—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

In Exodus 23 and Leviticus 23, these feasts are described as God’s “Appointed Times”—special seasons when the Lord wants to meet with His people and bless our lives in miraculous ways. The Israelites KNEW that if they obeyed the Lord…kept His commandments…and came before Him to Sow their special offerings, they could depend on God to keep His promises to bless them with abundant Harvests.

What kind of Harvest do YOU need from God today? His Covenant Blessings aren’t just about material provision, as important as that is. He also wants to bless you with supernatural guidance…healing…protection…victory…peace of mind…better relationships…and restoration of anything the enemy has stolen.

I am praying for you to enter into a new dimension of God’s abundance during this special season of Harvest.

So take a step of faith and obedience…come before God to honor Him with your worship…prepare Him a special offering…then trust that your amazing season of blessings is at hand!

Your friend and partner to reach the Lost,

David Cerullo