It's Harvest Crime!

Regardless of how strong and long Al Gore preaches global warming, God has already decided that the Earth will go through seasons and cycles. And there is nothing we can do to change it.

While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease. Gen 8:22

No one is arguing that it isn't warmer than it was 230 years ago. No one has crossed the frozen Delaware since George Washington. And the last Mexican who died of hypothermia trying to reach San Antonio, was on his way to The Alamo with Santa Anna. But It's nothing like it was during the 10th century. The Vikings didn't give Greenland THAT name to be sarcastic. The Earth has cycled through temperature variations for thousands of years. Politicians see a tax revenue and call it global warming. Humans feel warmer and call it weather. God creates "cold and heat" and calls it "good".

Just as sure as God's cycle of "hot and cold" is His cycle of cycle of "seedtime and harvest." Night is different than day, but they are related. Cold is different than heat, but both are needed to help define the other. Seedtime and harvest are related in the same way. You can't have harvest without seedtime. In fact, the definition of harvest relies on it. The dictionary defines harvest as "the result or consequence of an act, process, or event" You can't harvest corn unless it's been sown. You can't harvest grapes unless they've been planted.

There is nothing spiritual or supernatural about sowing and reaping. The Bible teaches that man sows and man reaps, but it's God who gives the increase. Jesus didn't say he would provide the mustard seed and plant it for you. He said if WE supplied the mustard seed and sowed it, we could harvest a product that would move mountains. But planting the seed and watching God increase it doesn't guarantee we'll get it.

So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the harvest as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Judges 6:3-6

Thieves never come during planting season. They come during harvest time. Thieves don't care about seed, they want the finished product. A thief, by definition, throws away his own seed and takes the fruit of yours. Thieves will kill their own potential and wait patiently for yours to blossom. They will gladly watch Oprah and text on their cell phones as you water the ground and shoo the crows. Your seedtime will be a season of peace and you will feel close to God as He directs you to sow faith-filled seeds of blessing into your life. And then, right on schedule, they will arrive hungry, needy, and violent.

How many of us have spent hours, days, and years believing God for something and just when it was close enough to smell, it was gone forever? I know Christians who attend church every Sunday, give of their time, talents, and money, and never see a harvest. It's as if, out of nowhere, it was erased from their destiny. A pink slip, a divorce, a death, a deal gone bad, whatever it was, it had enough poison to disarm and dishearten. Wounded, we retreat, allow the enemy to plunder, and give the Christian response. "I guess it wasn't God's will." That wasn't the attitude of David's mighty men. When the entire Israelite army retreated, Shammah defended a lentil patch against an entire Philistine army. (2Samuel 23:11-12)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. John 10:10

Because the thief takes what he wants, and destroys the leftovers, we learn to sow sparingly. Why bother planting all summer when everything is stolen? Why give, pray, and offer up mustard seeds of faith when most of the time we get nothing? This is the strategy of the thief. If the thief can steal your harvest enough times, soon you'll stop planting so much.

I recently spoke with a Christian woman who was deeply discouraged. She complained that everyone around her was taking, taking, and taking from her. She is chronically depressed, and has nothing more to give. Everything she plants in the kingdom is stolen. This has caused her to be without hope, and she has become indifferent towards her church. Satan has stolen so much of her harvest, that she believes everyday of her life is a waste of time. "Why doesn't God just take me home?"

We must recognize that things of value always attract thieves. Your marriage, romance, family, and potential are always targeted. Jesus never promised us immunity from being targeted, but he did give us power over the thief.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1John 4:4

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you James 4:7

We don't deserve what we don't pursue. God freely gave us Christ, and He will freely give us all things. But that has nothing to do with thieves. Everything God gives us is valuable, so you can expect every promise of God to be a target. If we don't prepare for it, we will be left with nothing. It does us no good to call the intercessors, listen to Hillsongs, and speak faith, if we just stand paralyzed during harvest time.

Seedtime and harvest are not automatic. We have to plow, fertilize, and plant. But the thief doesn't care about your seedtime. He's after your harvest. Trusting God is NOT walking away and believing God will harvest and serve it up to you for supper. Trusting God is walking away and believing He will bring the increase. It is during that time you walk away and put on your armor. Because you can be sure, your not the only one waiting for it.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9