Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
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When baking, we need to use large measures to make a large cake. We can wish for a large cake all we want, but if the measures put in are small than the cake will be too. As Jesus said with the same measure we use it will be measured back to us. There is one more thing to this though. We really need to have faith. This is absolutely essential. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Sometimes when we’re praying and sowing good deeds, it can get discouraging when our prayers are not answered. It can also be discouraging when it seems as if our work or good deeds have not amounted to much of anything. Jesus answered the lack of faith and persistence the story of the persistent widow:
Luke 18:1-8 “1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
We often hear about sowing and reaping in regards to finances, but this is not at all God’s main point. Oftentimes we can get so caught up in the material goods and money, that we forget that money is just a tool, but the better blessings are spiritual.
It is not enough to simply sow good things, if we keep doubting God’s promises. God obviously places an enormous value on faith, all throughout scripture. So we must not only sow obedience, but we need to also have faith that what we have sowed will eventually produce a crop of blessing. Sometimes God makes us wait a long time, and sometimes the waiting time is short, but the important thing is that we hold faith in God regardless of how long we wait for his blessing to be fulfilled.
For a long time, David was just an ultimately obscure cattle-tender. No one would have guessed that he could have become the greatest king of Israel! When Samuel asked to bring out his sons because one would be the king of Israel, David’s father had such a low opinion of David that he didn’t even bother calling him over. But in those obscure years of cattle-herding, David was sowing to the Spirit, worshiping and praying. Though David most likely did not expect anything special or significant for his life, God nonetheless was keeping track of his faith and dedication, and thus rewarded him.
Before leading us into blessing in life and ministry, there is often a time of trials or obscurity in which we must do the sowing of the seeds of obedience in faith. Regardless of how the circumstances may seem, we need to still remember there will be a harvest of blessing and success in the future.
So whenever we feel discouraged, or that our life and ministry isn’t impacting much people, we need to remember that God truly does see us, and is keeping track of what we are sowing. Just keep having faith in God’s love and promises. Even if it takes years and years to come to fruition, we need to be like that widow, that won’t give the judge any rest. It took Abraham many years before God allowed the promised son Isaac to be born. So sometimes, we just need to keep praying our prayers to God in faith that someday he will answer.