Why We Don’t Give Up
if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9
An early-morning snowfall dressed our golden farmfields in white. And the John Deere combine will sit idle another day.
Coffee cup warming my hands, I look out the window at corn leaves, fringed in snow, as the farmer clicks through online forecasts. He hasn’t harvested a single plant from these acres, and it’s already October 12.
“It’s supposed to be 50 degrees by the weekend,” Scott says. Is that hope I hear in his voice, melting a wife’s worry?
Even in the harvest, the farmer is still planting. He’s dropping Hope Seeds in our home — like he did back in the spring.
“God is in control,” Scott told me in the spring, when soggy fields delayed his planting.
He was right. The ground dried, and that young farmer scraped back Earth to drop seeds into an earthen bed — tiny acts of hope that sprouted green and grew tall and faded into a coppery promise.
He knew what it meant to wait with faith, to be still. It seems a farmer would never have peace with Earth or with God outside of a place called surrender.
In the spring, while we waited, I offered a word to him: “You know, we’ve never missed a harvest yet. The harvest always comes.”
But now it’s October 12, and my confident words echo long in my soul as I look out this window. It was so easy for me to speak faith-filled words then. But now … look what happened to my faith when tested? Seeds of autumn doubt try to choke out springtime hope.
“Yes, it’s going to be OK,” he says. “God’s got it.”
The farmer tends to the farmfields, yes. But he tends to our Soul Fields, too, weeding out fear. And I am thankful for this man’s faith, and how he lets me borrow his faith when my own falls short.
God’s got it, he tells me. And I open up the Word to find an echo of the farmer’s spoken truth.
“…at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Not if …
but when.
For we will reap a harvest.
***
Lord God, you tell us: Be still.
And we wait for you.
Lord, Quiet my soul.
The harvest is coming.
Amen.
Be still and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10
***
Friend, Are you waiting for a harvest? Can you trust that what you’ve planted in another season will bear fruit at the proper time? May you find Hope Seeds in God’s promise of the harvest to come. While you and I wait, can we remember God’s assurance? He says: Do not give up.
God’s got it …
When the title popped in my reader, I knew what this post would be. The first photos confirmed it.
I'm thinking about you guys today, and praying … for that hope.
As I look at my own uncertain days ahead, I'm reminded that none of us have any more real clarity as to tomorrow than the next person. But some of us just don't see it all the time.
For folks like you and Scott, who put the food on my table, that unknown is daily and constant. And I can't help but think that puts you at His feet far more readily and eagerly than those of us who think we know what's going on from moment to moment.
Scott's right. God's got it. And that means He's got you.
God's blessings for a bountiful harvest (may it feel like Christmas).
Yes, God's got it…but oh how difficult to wait on his timeline! Every day I pray for a dry day…and every day I am disappointed. Not in God for sending more rain and snow, but in my inability to accept it. We have corn and beans standing tall promising a bountiful harvest, the best we personally have had in years, yet we have only been able to get a third of one small field in. God knows we need this money to pay the land rent so I am trusting God to give us the right time to reap our harvest. I will keep praying and know that God will answer…in His own time, not mine. Thank you for sharing Jennifer…once again you hit "home" with me.
Hi Jennifer
Wow! Snow already ummm! But it's so good to know as your Husband assured you "God Got It",and he truly does.And I'm so thankful that even in our seasons of doubt God's plans and promises never change,what he promised he will do Amen.Good post Jennifer I enjoyed the read.
Love ya
I heard about the snow and cold. I pray all will turn out. God is with you always. Loved your post.
I needed this today. I believe God is in control, so I know things will work out for you and for me.
I like how Lyla described us as those "who think we know". None of us knows how God will provide our daily bread. But He still does, in His own way and time. No matter what anyone says, faith is a leap. It's scary sometimes.
My prayer is for God to work miracles again, providing you with a harvest beyond what you even prayed for.
We often forget that God has our back, so to speak, at all times! Thank you so much for this sobering reminder.
Ah, Miss Jennifer.
Once again God uses your words to comfort a sore, aching heart.
I often say "Doing the right thing stinks"…because in doing what we ought…in waiting for His Spirit to lead, guide and direct before we move, we can find intense emotions buried within our own hearts.
I pray for you and your harvest…and for the work that the Farmer is doing in your heart.
Much love,
Bina
Jenn- for me this speeks about more than your harvest in the field. I am so not a farmer, but realized that I do have fields of my own to "harvest", but how do I know when I am done nurturing these 3 fields that I have in my care? You have given me something to ponder and think about as 2 of them are getting older and wanting to branch out, am I done now…tears, I dont want to be yet! Thank you Jenn!
Snow – say it isn't so! I just, literally just a few minutes ago, turned my furnace on for the first time to get the chill out of the air and raise the temp in the house to 69 degrees. :o)
As for the real meat here…I am learning to rest in the knowledge that God's got it. In my life right now, I have too many things where I don't have a clue where or what the coming days will bring but I am ever grateful that my God is the constant, never shifting truth that my tomorrow is promised. Nothing else – nothing more.
Waiting isn't easy. Resting is often difficult. Faith grows tangible with each second.
Shalom,
Denise
These three words are filled with grace and full of peace: God's got it.
Thanks for sharing. Thanks for sharing your faith, too.
Yesterday I read a passage in Ezekiel. The Lord Himself asked Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" And Ezekiel answered, "Sovereign Lord, only You know." It struck me as trust well-placed. And I hear Ezekiel in your voice today…and in Scott's. Well-placed trust. God bless you!
Deidra, your words (God's Word) is speaking in my soul right now. Because Ezekiel put his hope in God for a time beyond his days on Earth. Because we sometimes fail to reap the harvest we were expecting, while the Lord is testing us to wait for something beyond our imagination. And He never fails to deliver something beyond that for which we first had hope.
I really need this post. I have been waiting for my harvest for 2 years and I am still waiting. I know God got it but I just needed a reminder. Thanks for the post and I love the pictures!
Blessings my friend!
This one I can really relate to. Thanks. I'm going to post it on my blog because it really links in with all the church struggles I've been having. xx
praying for you today. We are experiencing the snow here as well. Your husband is right, God's got it! And He will see the harvest through.
I thought about taking pics of the beans, too. Thanks for the encouragement!
What causes doubt and worry are the stories of crops that didn't get harvested, stories from our parents and grandparents. That it CAN happen. But no matter what, God is in control. God has a plan. Since I've been a farmer's wife, we've never missed a harvest…but there's always that chance…but FEAR is NOT of God. And I'm resting in the fact that He is in control, even when it snows and we want it to STOP! Brandy's patience was tried for the first time last night, but otherwise he's been holding up well and leaning on his Lord, too. LOVE the verse! Thanks again!!!
I think I would make a terrible farmer, but I'm learning patience in waiting waiting for the harvest. Praying for you.
Just wanted you to know that I loved your post (as usual) and that I stole a few of your words but gave you the credit and put your link on my site! Thanks for the words today, just when I needed them.
Saw this on a blog called Reflections of Me (http://belovedaimees.blogspot.com/2009/10/six-word-saturday_10.html) She posted an entry for Six Word Saturday – which makes 6 word posts.
"Snow in October is simply RUDE."
I love the line in your post, "seeds of autumn doubt tried to choke out springtime hope."
Whether we're farmers or not, I think we all can relate to discouraging times and having to trust God no matter what. Thanks for sharing. I love reading about what you're learning.
Thank you for your honesty Jennifer–it IS hard. On the farm and in the big city, people are on shaky ground and learning to stop trusting what's under their feet. Praying for you and your farm and the harvest to come!
I needed to read those exact words this morning, "God's got it!"
Thank you.
~ Wendy
Patience…is always the hardest thing to do when we want it our way, in our timeline…But we forget that a day may mean like a thousand years to the Lord or vice versa…But like what your hubby said,"God is in control"…And that's a beautiful reminder that no matter what circumstances we are facing, He is truly in control!
That line: "even in harvest, the farmer is still planting…" makes me reflect on my own work…for the workers are few. Great post sister Jennifer…
Thanking God for the man he's given to you…and he's given you to!
Monica
There is no faith like a farmer's faith. Or a farmer's wife's. I can't imagine a way of life that must depend upon God more.
And that's exactly why farmers are some of the best people I know.
The harvest will come. I know it.
Thanks, Jen. God's got it, indeed. I needed to read these words today, and am passing it on to someone close to me who needs to read them too. God bless you, sister!!!
Thanks, Jen. God's got it, indeed. I needed to read these words today, and am passing it on to someone close to me who needs to read them too. God bless you, sister!!!
Prayers from eastern NC heading your way, friend. The harvest will come, and your faith will continue its growth.
peace~elaine
Wow Jennifer…..what a powerful reminder to us all. I think we all are waiting on our own harvest and sometimes it does get hard to keep the faith or have patience with God's perfect timing. At least it does for me.
I will pray for you and your husband's crops…..I know and trust that it will yield exactly what you need. I know that you have planted many seeds in my heart in this short time I have "known" you….seeds that have already brought forth a harvest in my heart. You are the real deal, and so thankful that God had our paths cross.
(can you tell I SO needed this message?)
Peace and love~
Your story's been on my heart this week. I included it in the post I did for today.
Much love to you!
"He lets me borrow his faith when my own falls short."
I love that.