Reap The Harvest!

December 11, 2025

Reap The Harvest!

I spent most of my adult life living around Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers. 

I celebrated with them when grain prices were high and yields were phenomenal.  I celebrated with them when calving season had few causalities and cattle prices were high.  We often paused to give our praise to the Lord God for His bounty. 

I also prayed my heart out with them when prices were low, expenses were high, and the weather did not cooperate.  I prayed my heart out with them when global political tensions, a faltering national economy, and new legislative policy significantly cut away at the profits in farming and ranching.  We often pleaded together with the Lord God to restore our hope and provide for a lack of income.

One of the things I learned is there is a time to sow and a time to harvest (compare Ecclesiastes 3:2b).  If you do not sow the seed at the correct time, your harvest will often be impacted in a negative way.  If you sow at the correct time, but do not harvest at the correct time, your harvest will also be impacted in a negative way.

There is a time to sow the seed and a time to harvest the grain.  The same principle of sowing and harvesting applies to our lives as Christ-followers.  We sow acts of kindness, expressions of compassion, and offerings of grace. 

We sow the Word of God, the sharing of the Gospel, and invitations to draw near to Jesus as Savior and Lord.  The harvest is prepared by the Holy Spirit who also determines the time for the harvest to occur. 

The good news is we are living in a season when the Holy Spirit has prepared the hearts, minds, and souls of countless people to draw near to Jesus and receive Jesus as their Savior.  This is true in our country and in our global community.  There is a great soul-harvest taking place right now!

The timing of the soul-harvest was also obvious in first century Rome.  In his letter to the Christ-followers in Rome, the Apostle Paul announces that the harvest for the Kingdom of God is now. 

In Romans 1:13 Paul writes; “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as I have among the rest of the gentiles.”  Paul tells the churches in Rome it is time for the harvest of souls to begin.

Jesus also announced that the time for the Kingdom harvest in Israel was at hand.  In Matthew 13:30 Jesus says; “Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”  Jesus says it is time for the reapers (you and me!) to gather the harvest.

When the Apostle John was living in exile on the island of Patmos in the first century, he was certain the time of the Kingdom harvest was at hand.  In Revelation 14:15 John records the words of one of the angels.  He writes; “Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, ‘Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.’”  The angel tells the Apostle John the soul-harvest is ripe and ready to reap…now!

Paul, Jesus, and the angel of the Lord announced that now…right now…is the time to reap the harvest of souls.  We can’t wait, we can’t delay, and we can’t make excuses that we are too busy, too shy, or don’t know our Bible well enough. 

The best farmers know when it is time to harvest the crop and they reap the harvest when it is time.  The best ranchers know when the cow is about to give birth and they show up to help in any way they can. 

There are no excuses and no delays.  The bests farmers and ranchers reap the harvest when it is time to harvest.  The same is true for every Christ-follower.  Paul and Jesus and an angel of heaven have told us that the Kingdom harvest is fully ripe; i.e., it is time for a harvest of souls!

The only question is whether we will make excuses, orchestrate delays, or wait until we think we know a better time. 

The Holy Spirit has already prepared the heart, mind, and soul of someone in your family or someone in your circle of friends.  It may be someone at work, on the team, or living next door.  But, the time for the Kingdom harvest is right now. 

I am convinced there is a spiritual awakening happening in our land.  People are not finding answers in politics or economics.  People are not finding answers in their acquisitions or their address.  People are not finding answers in defining their own morality or their own spirituality.  People are thirsty for something more!    

People are looking for the real way to the Lord God.  People are looking for a life that is real and meaningful.  People are looking for the Truth that only Jesus can provide.  In John 14:6 Jesus says; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”    

People are thirsting to know the way, the truth, and the life who is Jesus.  The harvest of souls is fully ripe.  It is up to you and me and every other Christ-follower to reap the harvest the Holy Spirit has prepared. 

I invite you to think about a friend who needs to meet Jesus for the first time.  What would it look like for you to engage in a spiritual conversation with that person?  Could that conversation take place during the next week?

Our biggest reservation in sharing the love of Jesus with a friend is our lack of confidence and a small amount of courage to do so.  What would it look like if you asked the Holy Spirit to fill your heart, your mind, and your soul with boldness to step out as a reaper in God’s Kingdom harvest?

When someone comes to Christ, there is an unimaginable joy that fills their heart.  When you are the one to lead them to Christ, there is a delight that fills our heart so that we share our delight with the Lord.

The harvest has been prepared.  The time to reap the harvest is now.  I pray you receive boldness so you can be a part of God’s Kingdom harvest.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug