Most people understand the concept of sowing and reaping. You sow a seed so that you can reap a harvest. When you sow a seed you do so with the expectation that it will take some time and effort in order for the seed to grow. It has to be fed properly. It should be watered regularly. It needs to be planted in the right amount of soil with the right amount of sunlight. There is work that happens in between seeding time and harvesting time.
In life the seed appears in the form of money, time, effort, creativity, discipline and so forth. We invest these things in our business, our relationships, our health for some period of time with the hopes that we will eventually reap a harvest. The harvest being financial gain, love, improved health, and esteem to name a few.
I was watching the Trinity Broadcast Network one day and a pastor named Jesse Duplantis was on the show. The topic was sowing and reaping.
Pastor Jesse picked up an apple and said, “If you eat the seed it will taste bitter. You’re not supposed to eat the seed.”
That was what Oprah Winfrey would call an aha moment for me. The harvest is not bitter. The seeds are. I mentioned previously that I had taken part in an investment deal that went sour. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was at this moment, one Friday afternoon on New Year’s Day to be exact that I realized I ate the seed. I had been bitter about this situation for two and half years because I thought it was my harvest. I thought I had squandered my harvest away with nothing to show for it. In this moment I realized that was not my harvest. It was my seed.
We tend to think that seeds must originate from us ourselves. Anything that appears to us unexpected is thought to be a harvest. This is how we mistake our seed for a harvest.
I remember in college I had received an unexpected check for $500. I was talking to someone about it and I said, “I think I’m going to sow a seed with this money.”
Her response was that I should not sow a seed. That was my harvest. She didn’t say harvest, but that’s what she meant. The unexpected $500 was a blessing from God and I should accept that blessing. As a result, I ate my seed.
If I wanted to grow tomatoes I couldn’t do so without a seed. Now, I don’t have any tomato seeds nor can I create or make them. Someone has to give me the seed. Either I go to the store and pay for them or someone just gives me the seeds. Either way I have to first receive a seed before I can sow a seed. God will give us seeds so that we may have that which we want (the harvest) once we’ve sowed the seed.
2 Corinthians 9 says, “He who gives seed to the sower…” Receiving something is not an indication that it is your harvest. It is likely your seed.
For example, a marriage is not a harvest. Not initially. Yes, you have been praying for a spouse. You have kissed a lot of frogs over the years and now you’re walking down the aisle. However, that moment of glory is not your harvest. Your marriage is your seed. You sow it, you water it, and you nourish it.
The same could be said about a business. Starting that business or getting the loan is not the harvest. It is the seed. Your first influx of customers is not necessarily a harvest.
How do you know if what you have is a seed or a harvest? First off, if you have not planted a seed what you have is not a harvest. It is the seed for you to sow in order to reap a harvest. Secondly, if your “harvest” tastes bitter, you may have just eaten your seed. Spit it out! Plant it and let it grow. Lastly, if what you think is a harvest is not enough, there’s a good chance the seed is not ready to be harvested.
It’s important to understand this because if you don’t know that your seed is not your harvest you will eat your seed and never receive the harvest. You will give up too soon. You will stop tending to the seed before it has taken root and given a chance to grow. You will stop short of your harvest or you will prematurely harvest your seed.
Know the difference between a seed and a harvest so that you may plant at the right time and harvest at the right time.
IT Statement (Inspiring & Transformational)
My seed to not my harvest. I will not eat my seed.