This is an extension of last week’s blog that focused on Ezekiel’s “valley of dry bones.” God keeps reminding me about the promise of persistence so, perhaps, I or someone reading this needs the encouragement.

In his letter to the church at Galatia Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:7-9).

These verses serve both as a warning and a promise. The spiritual law is confirmed in natural law. Whatever seeds you plant, will produce a crop of the same. Apple seeds produce apple trees. Watermelon seeds invariably produce watermelons. The seeds of thorn bushes produce thorn bushes. The spiritual law demands that whatever we sow will produce a harvest of the very things we have been planting.

In general, if we sow or do things to please our flesh, destructive things will eventually come our way. If we sow or do things that please the Spirit, we will receive life giving responses and blessings . Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Proverbs 18:21 declares that the tongue has the power of life or death. If we consistently speak negative words or “death,” negative things will come our way along with failure. If we speak positive things – life and hope, success will be birthed out of our words. This spiritual law is also reflected in the words of Jesus: “With what judgment you judge, you shall be judged” and those who will not forgive, will not be forgiven.

Paul’s point in his letter was that to believe we sow one thing and receive another to that we can sow without a harvest, is mocking God. His promise is that we will reap what we sow. Like harvest in the natural realm, the more seed you spread, the more you harvest. The more people you bless, the greater will be the blessings that come back to you.

One of the challenges of this law is is that there is a season of waiting between seed time and harvest. In the spiritual realm, it can be a more than a few months. For those who sow to the flesh, this extended season between sowing and reaping can be deceptive. Those who do evil may interpret the lag time as evidence that they can act without consequence. Paul assures us however, that God will not be mocked. Destruction is in the pipeline for those who sow to the flesh without repentance.

On the other side of the spectrum, we may become discouraged from doing good, from hoping, from trusting, from continuing in prayer, from slogging through a disappointing marriage, because we don’t see “green shoots pushing up through the ground” from our efforts or prayers we have sown into the spiritual realm. But once again, the promise is that God will not be mocked. Paul says we should not grow weary in doing good because God guarantees we will reap a harvest for the good we have sown, the prayers we have uttered, the ministry or relationships, we have been pouring into, the life-giving words we have spoken, and so forth.

So…whatever you have been sowing that pleases the Spirit, be assured a good harvest will come. You may see it soon, see it later, or only see it in your bank account where you have laid up treasures in heaven, but God promises a rich return. If you consider timelines in scripture regarding deliverance from bondage, children being born to barren women, the Messiah coming, and so forth, there are just as many prayers that took decades as there are the overnight, miraculous interventions we delight in. Even those may have been preceded by someone sowing seeds of prayer and life-giving words. If weariness has set in, take heart. God knows and God promises.