When It Seems Like The Harvest Doesn't Happen By Olivia Warner
How many of you have heard this verse shared in church? “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2)
I bet if you’ve been a Christian for more than a few years, you’ve heard this used as an encouragement to go out and do God’s work, sharing the gospel and serving others. Maybe you’ve even joined in the second part of the verse, praying in earnest for God to send out more believers to be a witness in the world. The verse is meant to inspire and hopefully motivate us to do good. The harvest is there and waiting, and we’re called to respond. God needs more workers, so let’s get to it! We make it sound relatively easy, but if you’ve spent any length of time serving in church or ministering to others, you’ve probably dealt with quite a bit of discouragement and resistance. Maybe like me, you’ve sometimes looked at the “harvest” of your efforts and thought that, quite frankly, the results were meagre and the fields seemed rather dead. What do we do with that disappointment?
If I’m doing an honest evaluation, I have to admit that I’ve often pointed the finger at God.
God, You asked me to do this, why doesn’t it seem to be working?
You say You want labourers in the fields, but nothing is happening.
I’m trying my best, but is all this really worth it?
Those are the thoughts we all have but would rather not admit. It certainly doesn’t sound spiritual to be complaining and blaming God. Deep down, though, it’s how we feel, and we’ve prayed and served, planned and volunteered, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
As I’ve wrestled through this mindset, I’ve come to the realization that I misunderstand what my role is and what God’s is in all this. I get caught up in my own pride and ideas, thinking I know how everything should go. And when it doesn’t go according to my plan, I’m frustrated. To realign our thinking on this, notice Luke 10:2 again. We are told to pray to “the Lord of the harvest” (emphasis added). God’s name here implies that He is the one in charge of the outcome, not us. The Lord of the harvest determines the results of our labour; nowhere in here does He ask for anything from us but to be sent out.
The labourers are to go out into the world and cultivate, spreading seeds of the gospel through faithful obedience to the Lord. It does not mean that we control what happens, how many people are saved or show up to church each week. We are responsible for the effort and intention we put into it, but we can’t be responsible for what the Lord is doing in the lives of others and how they choose to act. It may be hard to let go, but it’s also freeing when we realize that the pressure isn’t on us to make everything happen.
That’s God’s job, and we should leave it in His capable hands while focusing on the role He’s given us to play.
This starts by grounding ourselves in who God is. We have to be convinced of His sovereignty and power and surrender to Him in faith. When we confidently declare He is the Lord of the harvest, we embrace a spirit of humility that allows us to redirect our grumbling to trust in His plan.
