Daily Affirmations - Day 7 - Springtime Shall Not Cease: Seedtime and Harvest

Day 7: Seedtime and harvest

He will send us rain for the seed we sow in the ground

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations (Isaiah 61:11).

Our Father in heaven, You gave Your promise that “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). And as surely as You established seedtime and harvest in the natural cycle of seasons, You have also established a time of sowing and reaping in Your spiritual plan for humanity.

The Lord Jesus described for us the kingdom of God: A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29).

In the same way that Your natural laws work in unfathomable ways to produce life and growth, You have set in place laws that govern spiritual sowing and harvesting: a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted (Ecclesiastes 3:2 - NKKV). And You desire that we sow wisely and diligently, so that we can reap a harvest of righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10).

You instructed Your ancient people, Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you (Hosea 10:13).

We know You are concerned about the harvest of souls, for You want all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). The gospel writer Matthew tells us that When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" (Matthew 9:36-37).

O Lord of the harvest, as we look around at the plentiful harvest with few workers, give us the compassion of Jesus. In our world, we see many who are harassed and helpless. We see oppression and injustice, trouble and turmoil, chaos and conflict. We see growing tension, mounting anxiety.

We see—among the other evidence of hopelessness and despair—mental anguish, addictions, self-harm, and suicide. We see the toll these take on loved ones.

We pray as our Savior instructed us, "Send out workers into Your harvest field” (Matthew 9:38). Help us to sow love and grace, patience and kindness, forgiveness and mercy into the lives of others. Help us to sow unceasing tears and prayers into our families, our friends, our circles, our communities, our world. Have mercy, O God!

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