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Health & Fitness

Law of the Harvest

Dr. Michael Stovall shares how leading requires a commitment of oneself to those we are attempting to lead.

Part of my devotional reading each day is from "Turning Points" by David Jeremiah. Today's devotional Scripture was Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceive, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Dr. Jeremiah wrote in the devotional, "The law of the harvest has three parts: no reaping without sowing, reaping is in proportion to sowing; and time separates sowing and reaping" (p 130).

Generally, when sowing and reaping are discussed it turns to money and morality. There is nothing wrong with making the application of sowing and reaping in these two areas. However, I was struck with the law of sowing and reaping as it pertains to leadership. Leadership is about influence. Henry and Richard Blackaby wrote, "Spiritual leadership is moving people on to God's agenda" (Spiritual Leadership, p 20). As a leader I want to influence others for the Kingdom of God.

When I connect the dots between the law of sowing and reaping and the definition of leadership, I come to the conclusion that leading requires commitment of self to those we are attempting to lead. This commitment of self will cost us time, energy and faith. Consider the connection:

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  1. No Reaping Without Sowing - It is insufficient leadership to expect people to buy in to your vision if we do not spend adequate time sowing the vision into their lives. Leading cannot be done well from a distance. [TIME]
  2. Reaping Is In Proportion to Sowing - The harvest of leadership in the lives of those we attempt to lead will be greater when we have spend adequate time sowing the vision and the necessary resources for equipping into their lives. [ENERGY]
  3. Time Separates Sowing and Reaping - Ultimately we must trust that the investment of our time and energy are worth it. The problem in ministry is that we misunderstand where the trust is to be placed. We need to make sure that the person(s) we are investing in are trustworthy for the task. But once that is determined, our trust in the seasons of sowing is in the Lord. We are to trust that His instructions for leading people as outlined in the Scriptures are sufficient. We are to trust the Holy Spirit to empower the people to carry out the task. Essentially, once we commit to the task of sowing we are trusting God's faithfulness to His Word to complete what He has begun. [FAITH]
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