He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.
I remember from my geography lessons many years ago of a harvesting method employed by some sugar cane farmers. Sugar cane ripens quickly in the heat of summer. The concentration of sugar content is high when the weather is dry. Because the bark of the plant is very hard and thick, it does not catch fire easily. The farmers would set fire to a ripened sugar cane field, where all the dried weeds and leaves would be burned easily and speedily. Once the field is cleared, the harvesting is carried out quite easily.
When we are in a season of harvest, we may sometime need to take decisive actions to facilitate the harvesting. The fruits of harvest may be hidden by the “dried weeds” or “lalang” in our lives. We may need to invite the fire of the Holy Spirit to come upon us and our circumstances, to clear up all that is hindering the harvesting. Once that is cleared up, then the fruits of the harvest will be clearly visible before us.
To reap the harvest in our season we must be willing to be diligent and work hard. Though fruitfulness and increase is from God, not due to our own efforts, harvesting requires determination and hard work. Ask the Lord today to reveal to you and expose all that is hindering your fruitfulness and your potential, giftings from being revealed, call down the fire of the Holy Spirit to clear them up. Then, step out into your harvest field and bring in the harvest. Hard work is required, but this is different from sowing: in sowing we wait for the crops to grow and bear fruits, in harvesting we taste the fruits immediately!
Go forth! The time is now!