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September 10, 2023

Sow until you reap

'Dens of bandits': Rwanda closes thousands of evangelical churches

Stock image for illustration.

By Funmi Komolafe

The month of September is associated with fruitfulness but only for those that sow.

The law of harvest is very clear, no planting, no harvest.

Simply put, we need to put in something to get more of whatever we planted.

You may say every farmer knows that but it is also true of our spiritual life.

The question is when is the appropriate time to sow?

Let’s look at a few examples in the Holy Bible.

Isaac was in Gerar and there was famine in the land but it was during this period that he sowed in the land.

Genesis 26 vs.12-14 ( KJV): “ Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received  in the same year a hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him”.

The period of famine for a woman waiting on the Lord is the time of unfruitful efforts.  A period that she is unable to achieve pregnancy due to medical or spiritual conditions. Or the time of endless miscarriages. Baby seen, baby lost.

 It is  the period of loneliness for a person that desires to be married but  is  unable to find a marriage partner.

It  is  the period when your human efforts are not enough   to  grant you your heart’s desires.

This is the right time to sow.

Sowing may be in form of prayers, worship, and service to the LORD. fasting,  thanksgiving or reaching out to the needy.

Let’s consider  Hannah.  She went through a lot of provocation during her time of famine. It was a time that she was provoked, it was the time of loneliness and a time or a bitter mind.

She was down and out.

Having you been crying every month when your monthly period is seen?   Stop crying because crying without prayer is a fruitless effort. 

Hannah knew this so she decided to cry unto the LORD in prayer.

While others dined at Shiloh, she decided to sow  prayer and fasting. These were her seeds.

She poured out her heart in prayer and made a vow.

Brethren, do we realize that she made the vow because her faith was high?.

 She believed that God is able to give her a baby boy that she requested for.

Many of us pray without deep faith.  May the Holy Spirit lift up our faith in Jesus name.

Brethren, choose your form of seed and plant it with faith.

Any seed planted without faith would bring forth  nothing.

Hebrew 11 vs. 1  defines faith.  It states: “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

Hannah believed she  would be a mother after taking her case to God . 

God answered her with Samuel, the man-child that she requested.  The birth of Samuel was the beginning of Hannah’s fruitfulness. Even in her joyful mood she didn’t forget her vow.

She weaned the child  and  took him to serve the Lord as she earlier vowed.

Having played her part, God decided to bless her abundantly as he did to Isaac.

1st Samuel 2  vs. 21 is our authority. It states: “ And the LORD visited Hannah so that she conceived, and bare three sons  and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD”.

Samuel was a special child that God used to do great things. You too can have a similar testimony.

Brethren  you need to play your part and  submit totally to God. How and when God does it, is not for you to bother about.

Believe in the God of all possibilities.

Irregular menstrual period or low sperm count  is no issues when God is involved.

Keep your mind off  whatever  doctors have told you is the reason for infertility.

Take your case to the Doctor that is able to bring babies out of the womb that you have been told is too weak to carry babies.

A couple went to see a doctor and they were told that with the quality of eggs that the woman produces  couldn’t be fertilized. They were also told that  her husband’s  sperm count is low and  they may never have children.

Both were told to undergo surgery. They did but no  conception took place.

At a point, the woman had all the signs of early pregnancy but on examination, the doctor told her “ This is surprising the signs are there but I can’t see any baby”.

Brethren, no one needed to tell the woman that forces of darkness were at work.

She ran to  the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

When issues like this arise, resist the temptation to seek any ungodly alternative.  If science didn’t work, those other options would not work.

Even as we run to Christ, do not do so blindly.  Otherwise, you may run to the wrong place.

You need to Divinely choose the right church?

Confirm that the church depends on the  Word of God and nothing else.   Find out if the church ever recorded testimonies of child- bearing.  Better still, consistently ask the Holy Spirit for Divine Guidance.

Back to the couple I mentioned earlier, it took a lot of investment in prayer  with fasting for the couple to record a break  through.

To the glory of God , the Lord  gave them a baby boy.

Brethren another area that Christians do no not focus on, is the study of the Holy Bible.

Create time to read and study the Holy Bible.   The time spent doing this is not a waste of time.

When you study the Bible, you are sowing seeds.  

Whichever method you choose to sow seeds in the Lord, be assured that you would reap a bountiful harvest.

Often times, the Word that would give a breakthrough  is found while studying the word of God.

Brothers and Sisters, do not fear challenges.  God has given us all that we need to overcome challenges.

Breaking up your home because of child -bearing challenges is unhelpful.  When  you do this, you have submitted to that challenge.

God wants us to  have children hence he commanded in Genesis 1 vs. 28: “ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion  over the fish of the sea,  and over the fowl od the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”.

This season, the Lord will bless all your efforts at child bearing in Jesus name.

Brethren, be confident.  Within the remaining days of this year, be expectant. God is able.

In this month of fruitfulness, remain focused on the LORD.

Establish a relationship with Jesus if you have not.   Cry unto your advocate in prayer and the Lord will answer your prayers.

Deuteronomy 30 vs. 8&9: “ And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command  thee this day.

And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work  of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit  of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as rejoiced over thy fathers”.

Brethren with God  there is no impossibility.

I pray for you,  your fruitless efforts would receive the Divine touch of God for an amazing turn around in Jesus name.

Have you been recording losses in business? Cry to the God that can give you a turn around.

Brethren, whichever method you choose to  use as seeds, do so  diligently.

For the Bible tells us that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11 vs. 6: “ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe  that  he is,  and that he is a rewarder of  them that diligently seek him”.

Your season  of fruitfulness is here in Jesus name.