I was swimming through the book of Proverbs this morning when God zoomed in and grabbed my attention with a new way of looking at a verse I have read many hundreds of times:
“A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest.” Proverbs 10:5 (GNT)
I am sure this verse showed up today as part of my current focus on the spiritual imperative of fully RELEASING CONTROL of our life to God. Here’s why.
Christians committed to release control of their life to God will find it difficult to ignore the two words Solomon uses to deliver his powerful message–SENSIBLE and DISGRACE.
SENSIBLE: A positive, aspirational goal we seek to embody.
DISGRACE: The “out-of-bounds” zone we seek to avoid.
Those two words are, in a GENERAL sense, part of RELEASING CONTROL of our life to God. Both cannot be done by us. They come from God when we surrender and obey.
But God uses them in Proverbs 10:5 for a SPECIFIC purpose—to illuminate the glorious opportunity for every believer to harvest souls for God’s Kingdom.
Doing that is one sure sign that we have RELEASED CONTROL of our life to God and activated our faith. But this opportunity in Proverbs 10:5 is far from automatic. It falls into the category of Use-It (while on earth) Or-Lose-It.
It is a gift from God that offers all believers the means to tell others about the Lord of Heaven and earth. But, incredibly, it’s an offer that many Christians decline. That’s a shame because when God provides an opportunity to harvest, even the weakest child of God can rise to the occasion. Wise believers spot this opportunity and move on it for God’s glory. But foolish Christians squander opportunities to harvest (Proverbs 17:24).
When a season of harvest appears by the grace of God, we need to rush through the open door, not past it. And that comes when we RELEASE CONTROL of our life to God and pay attention to what he would have us do while we walk on earth.
I ask God to remind me continually that I need to fully RELEASE CONTROL of my life to him in order to seize the opportunities he provides for me to bring lost souls to his Kingdom.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Have you fully RELEASED CONTROL to God so you are or will be ready to harvest souls for the Kingdom?
“He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” Proverbs 10:5
