Awakening Hope

“What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.”—John 4:36-37, NLT

Peter was all over the map and was forever putting his foot in his mouth.

John could be leaning on Jesus’ breast one minute and the next wanting to call down fire on all that is wrong.

Philip was with Jesus for three years and still didn’t “get it” until the very end.

Nathaniel was skeptical and cynical.

Matthew came over from the dark side of the tracks.

James (and his brother) lobbied for celebrity status, forgetting humility.

Thaddeus seemed to quietly watch everything from the background.

And, as observed last week, Thomas had more questions than usual and often needed extra proof to be convinced.

It’s good to remember that, just like us, the first followers of Jesus were about as imperfect as you could get. And yet for our example, it was to this same "who picked these guys?" group into which Jesus poured His life and entrusted to follow in His footsteps, and to whom He said: “… I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These …fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!”—John 4:35, Message

Right in front of us? Sometimes, when we read things like that and realize that it is a timeless call,the enemy of our souls will try really hard to convince (lie to) us that our many imperfections and inconsistencies are a disqualifier, or tries to remind us how tongue-tied we can get when talking with others, or attempts to cast doubt on whether we even have the Biblical chutzpah within to really bring it home for someone. The adversary's end game pretty much comes down to this: “Who can do that? Not you. Be kinda like Thaddeus and just watch someone else try harvesting, and maybe you can see what you can do to help afterwards.”

To which we can counter with this Truth: In Jesus’ kingdom, everyone gets to play! And that every Perfect harvest began with an imperfect seed-planter. Which means no planted seed is too small or inconsequential, even...

That person we invited to church who hasn’t come…yet…

That friend who said “no thanks” when we offered them a bible…

That person who slammed the door or hung up the phone and yelled “you’re crazy, man!” after we said we’d pray for them…

That job or local gathering place that seems to continually put random people and their situations continually before us, and a word of Hope from our mouths in return.

Lord, helps us to remember that, as with Your first 12, what matters most about loving You and following You isn’t about having it all together, but rather being found faithful in all the seemingly small seed-planting opportunities that You drop in our lap each day. Even the ones we think wound up being an epic fail. Because they probably weren't. And we'll be humbled and grateful and excited if they will be used for one of the greatest awakenings of thousands in history...but it will also be more than enough if they are simply for one person who is greatly awakened by Hope in just the nick of time, whether we're there to see it happen or not.

 

"God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Your part is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.”— Oswald Chambers