Oftentimes, it takes a dramatic and life-changing event before we are willing to change the way in which we live. We are most blessed when these events happen early on in our lives so that their impact can be fruitful for many years to come afterward.
You won’t produce a harvest until you’ve first been broken by the plow. “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” (Hosea 10:12 NLT).
Adversity from the Lord is a teacher who cares more about the lesson you will learn than all you must go through. We think the Lord is being too harsh with us when the truth is He is only doing what must be done so that He can save us from ourselves.
Adversity is a harsh teacher that gives a cruel lesson that you might be a better student in the end. “And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction…Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it…’” (Isaiah 30:20-21 NKJV).
There are some people who need the greatest adversity and the biggest life-changing event possible before they are willing to change. They need to see the end of their life before them before they are willing to let go of all the things behind them.
There are some things you can only learn the hard way. “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jeremiah 18:4 NKJV).
When a man or a woman nears the last days of their life, they begin to reflect on eternity with greater clarity. The temporal things that used to matter to them so much on this earth have evaporated and no longer mean anything to them. They are ripe and ready to be picked for heaven.
Lord, help me not to fear how I might die more than how I might live. “…Jesus became a man like us. He died as we must die. Through His death He destroyed the power of the devil who has the power of death. Jesus did this to make us free from the fear of death. We no longer need to be chained to this fear.” (Hebrews 2:14-15 NLV).
There will be no period of time in which more people will be going through more adversity and facing the end of their lives than that which will happen during the Great Tribulation. It will be the final blow of the Lord upon this earth to save those who are finally ready.
The greatest harvest begins in a barren field. “And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward” (Isaiah 37:31 NKJV).
No matter your reason for being in the midst of the Tribulation, it will be a chance for you, like no other, to be used by the Lord to reach the lost and to be a light in the darkest of dark times. It will be a harvest like none other, and the fields will be ripe for the laborers.
Do as much as you can for as long as you can, and know that the Lord is with you. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).
There will be great deceptions, but there will also be great hope in the light of the Lord, who will shine brightly on those who are suffering. Don’t be afraid as you serve the Lord, but know that you may not last very long in the midst of your service.
Never fear the leading of the Lord but beware of the deception of man. “Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity” (Jeremiah 9:5 NKJV).
Some of the greatest of saints will be those who are martyred during the Great Tribulation. It doesn’t matter how many souls you will lead to salvation, but to the one soul whom you did, they will be thankful for all of eternity.
When you sow into eternity, the harvest will never end. “…whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7 NKJV).
The final harvest will be the last chance for those in the darkness to come to the light. The tribulation will be their blessing if the troubles ignite the desire to surrender to God. It will be in the worst of circumstances that the best of things will happen to those who are willing.
The measure of a plow is not in how it looks but in what it helps to produce. We are not shaped by God to be put on display but as plows to be used in the fields. “Then He [the Lord Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few’” (Matthew 9:37 NKJV). Unless you get your hands dirty, there will be no crop through you.
Don’t be afraid of your loved ones who may be left behind in the darkest of times. Only pray that they will come to realize all that the Lord can do for them in their lives. Pray that the adversity necessary to save their soul will come to them before it is too late.
Never forget that the end-times mark the beginning of a glorious new time.
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius