Day 25 Sowing & Reaping

One of the most important principles in the Bible is sowing and reaping. To reap a harvest, we must FIRST sow seeds.

There are many Scriptures that give us an insight into the subject of sowing and reaping. Here are just a few that are important for you to ponder and really think about:

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting” (Ps. 126:5).

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap”(Gal. 6:7).

“For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).

“And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).

When we focus on this truth during our Restoration Journey and begin to follow what we learn, only then can we fully understand and REAP the benefits of this principle—or any other principle. When we don't apply or move forward with what we've learned, because we are waiting until we understand, then we find our paths are crooked and we become lost.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:4-6).

In regard to this principle, sowing and reaping, we must move forward and put our trust in the Lord with our whole heart, based on the truth of His Word, and sow—expecting to reap a harvest! And once you begin to do this, that is when your Restoration Journey will become really exciting! 

EXPECTATION

No farmer would take the time or the money to sow seed if he did not expect to reap a harvest. In addition, if he wanted to reap a harvest of corn, he would sow corn. If he wanted to reap wheat, he would sow wheat. This means:

• If you want to reap kindness, sow kindness. 
• If you want to reap forgiveness, forgive! 
• If you want to reap love, then sow love. 
• If you want to reap financially, sow financially.
• If you want to reap encouragement, sow Encouragement!

—then anticipate a harvest of what you sowed—since God’s principles and His promises are true, and He is faithful!!

Not only will this mean that God will be faithful to what He promised and you'll reap a harvest here on earth, but you'll also be investing into your eternal future. 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).

This means any treasures you sow, no one here on earth can steal! 

This is significant to most of us who've experienced the loss of our spouse, our family life, our home, and our happiness!! And the reason it was stolen was due to giving the enemy permission, in addition to not sowing into the right soil. Soil that has been neglected from water and cultivation.

What we do with our money, or our time and energy, here on earth, is a true indicator of where our hearts are and will result in how we are blessed or why we are NOT blessed.

“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:10–11).

Since coming to Encouraging Men, everything you've benefited from, each Restored Marriage Testimony, and all the resources that have helped you, just about everything, came from women who SOWED. Only the few men you've read about, just a fraction, have sowed, which is why the men's harvest has been so small in comparison.

Sowing & Increasing

One morning the Lord reminded me of the two most hopeless Restoration Journeys that I still have ever seen over more than two decades of ministering. They were two women who came to me, years apart, but each had absolutely HOPELESS situations!

Yet would you believe that God used these women to teach ME something I almost missed? Let me introduce you to the first woman, Melanie, an older woman and her Restored Marriage Testimony.

Helping & Focusing on Others!!

Melanie had believed God for her marriage for over 10 long YEARS!! When she found my ministry and began coming to my weekly fellowship meetings. Very soon she and I became close friends and my four children began calling her Aunt Melanie.

Hearing all the things she was doing in her desire to restore her marriage to her husband, nothing made any sense to me. She was doing EVERYTHING right and yet she still did not have a restored marriage after almost 10 years. So I began to seek God for wisdom.

Melanie was from a long line of powerful Christians: well-known missionaries and pastors. And interesting to me, also, was that she and her husband were still surprisingly very close, spending a lot of time together as he came and went from their very spacious home. She was not at all contentious or many of the other things that usually caused marriage destruction.

Yet like all of us, Melanie wanted her husband to choose her over the other woman he had been involved with for all those very long and painful ten years! But after so many years of her seeking restoration, it seemed impossible to me, to her, and to everyone but God!

What God did to change Melanie's situation instantly, suddenly, and miraculously. And my guess is that it will surprise you as much as it surprised me. It is something that I have tried to encourage men and women to do  whenever anyone came to me or my ministry in desperation for their marriage to be restored. Yet, it was only recently that I realized it was that very special hidden KEY that would undoubtedly unlock restoration and to find and begin living the abundant life!

Not surprisingly it's the very message that Jesus taught and lived—but oh so very few Christians are willing to follow. And by the way, the word "Christian" actually translates to "followers of Christ" therefore all of us who claim to be Christians need to be willing to follow Him and His example, which means...

Our lives must be about caring for OTHERS more than caring about ourselves.

Caring for OTHERS was what I saw in Melanie. She always lived that way, but once she began coming to our Restoration Fellowship meetings, from the very beginning, she forgot all about how long she had waited for her miracle. Instead, she began to think of the other women, caring for them, and not with the mindset that if she helped them, then God would do anything for her.

Once she was surrounded by women who had needs, she began focusing on them, and she no longer thought about herself or her restoration!! Once Melanie had forgotten about herself, but instead began focusing on helping and blessing others—that GOD remembered her and blessed HER!!

After 10 YEARS Melanie's husband left the other woman for good! And to prove it was final, he wrote a song for Melanie that he sang to her at her church in front of hundreds of people!! People who knew what had been going on all those long ten years, who thought she was crazy for believing that God could restore her marriage—they ALL watched GOD do what He had promised! Even the men who witnessed Melanie's husband singing to his wife, brought all the men (and the women) to tears!!

How about you? Are you still waiting to see something happen in your restoration? If so, more than likely you are withholding seeds that should be sown:

• If you want to reap kindness, sow kindness. 
• If you want to reap forgiveness, forgive! 
• If you want to reap love, then sow love. 
• If you want to reap financially, sow financially.
• If you want to reap encouragement, sow Encouragement!

How can you help others?

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14)

The truth is—no matter how LONG or how SEVERE your situation is or continues to be, helping OTHERS is what will change EVERYTHING—and why your RESTORATION may have stalled or is not moving along in a positive way. 

Yes, following the principles that you learned during these 30-Days are important. But what it takes is to sow where you want to reap AND to open the last narrow gate very few are willing to open and walk through.

Men instinctively care about themselves, all humans do. All humans are selfish and self-centered by nature. Our sinful nature. But as we begin to renew our minds and live what we've learned, we actually choose to open and walk through the narrow gate we've been searching for "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14) it's then when we begin to see God doing what He promises to do.

It begins by first changing our focus from our own restoration to encouraging and helping others: 

First, sow financially into the lives of others by helping to provide the same resources that our PARTNERS provided for you: your FREE 30-Day RYM Restoration Journey. And perfect way is to Pay it Forward for at least ONE man. 

• “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).
• “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting” (Ps. 126:5).
• “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap”(Gal. 6:7).
• “For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).
• “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).