Dead Battery

Scripture: "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Gal 6:9

Observation: Preparation, planting, nurturing, and harvest. Those are the seasons of growing that a farmer goes through. Only one of the four is taking from the land. The other three are putting back. God's word indicates we should expect a similar experience in our relationship with Him.

Application: Some mornings I open up my Bible and it just comes to life before my eyes. My spirit is treated to a buffet of ideas, encouragement, rebuke, and instruction. It is like walking through a massive vineyard and taking my choice from the vines. Other times, like the past couple of mornings, it is more of a struggle. I look at the words on the pages, but nothing seems to happen. It feels a lot like sitting in a car with a dead battery. I know it has the potential to take me somewhere, but it just will not start. It can become frustrating. And this experience does not just extend to my Bible reading. There are other areas of my life that follow the same pattern. My relationships; sometimes they give fulfillment while other times they suck the life out of me. My work; sometimes I feel like I am on the greatest path in the world while other times I feel totally lost. My hobbies, sometimes I find great joy in them while other times I am left longing for more stimulation than they provide. In all these situations, I love the challenge of this verse. When things go bad, keep sowing good seed. When my quiet time stinks, keep pursuing it. When relationships become a drain, keep pouring into people. When work loses its spark, stay devoted to excellence. When good hobbies fail to produce release, refuse to purse defilement. Never stop sowing good seed. Never. In proper time, I will pass through the current season and enter the next; assuming I do not grow weary. In verse 7, we are promised that God will not be mocked. We will reap what we sow. In Deuteronomy 28 God paints an amazing picture of what life is like under his blessing. He also points out the incredible pain that results from a life under His curse. Both examples prove a simple point, my life will produce a result. At the end of the day my life, as a believer, will prove to the world around me the bounty of God's blessing or the power of His curse. What will I sow? Which fruit will I produce? Are the temptations of the world that good? Should I trade my quiet time for Sports Center just because I am not hearing anything? Should I avoid loving my wife faithfully just because our relationship is strained? Should I procrastinate and goof off at work just because things have become routine? May it never be! The good and plentiful harvest will come as long as I do not abandon the process.

Prayer: If I am being honest with You, I would often times prefer a grocery store and free credit rather than a garden and a hoe. Forgive my laziness. The life You have given me is incredible, but it requires diligent effort and lots of hard work. It is a labor now and it will be a labor until I die. If left to my own, this reality is exhausting. To think of the process never ending is torture beyond what I am willing to endure. I need Your help in sustaining my labor. I will quit. I know, I have seen me do it many times. I also have seen the result that comes from abandoning what is of the spirit for the pursuit of what is of the flesh. In short, I will make that crazy trade of Your blessings for Your curses just to receive immediate gratification of a need. It makes no sense to me but that is the pattern of my past. Guard my heart, mind, and soul today. Whether it be sowing or reaping, planting or harvesting, tilling ground or filling the storehouse; may I find Your joy in all that I do this day.