Harvesting for God

By Mike Boyd

I am sitting in my office, looking out the window over a freshly cut and baled hay field. I think back to when the grass was waist high and moving in the wind like the ocean waves. While that was a serene and beautiful picture, it was not as God intended it to be. The cycle was not yet complete. Within a few days, a man arrived on an old tractor and cut down all of the tall grass. Before four days had elapsed, the hay had been cut, dried, and baled. In less than a week, the serene picture was totally different. I am reminded of the comment made by our Lord and the command he gave in Matthew 9:37—“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” The fields I have watched have been worked, and now the bales are ready for the harvest. Where are the workers?

Here at the Francis Asbury Society (FAS) we depend on many laborers in order to successfully work the harvest fields. There are always a great many things that need doing that we are unable to get to. We are constantly on the lookout for additional workers who can come alongside us as we gather in the harvest from the Father’s fields. God has blessed us with a wonderful team that excitedly spends a portion of each day prayerfully asking the Father to reveal his will concerning everything we do. Summer is here, and our calendar is quickly filling up with meetings, camps, mission trips, and other speaking opportunities. Please pray that we will be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading as we surrender our plans to God. If you are ever in the Wilmore area, won’t you consider joining our team, even if it’s only for a short season? We would love to rub shoulders with you and get to know you better. It is always a blessing to be able to connect a face with a name and thereby be in a stronger position to pray for each other. It sounds like a win/win if you ask me. After all, that’s exactly how I came to be a part of the team here at FAS, and we could not have wanted things to be any different from the way God has intended.

Henry Blackaby, in his teaching series Experiencing God, shares that the question we should ask is not, “God, here is where I am working, why don’t you come and join me?” but rather, “God, where are you already working, and how can I join you?” Where is God working around us and how can we join him?

“Lord, we are facing a harvest that has tremendous potential for your kingdom. We prayerfully ask that you empower us with your wisdom so that we are able to clearly see where we are to begin working. We also ask that you send us workers for the harvest fields, workers that are committed to harvesting your “crops” for your Kingdom. We believe that the time is right and that the fields are ripe for harvest. Thank you for the way you are even now working to answer these prayers and for the doors that you opening for ministry. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”