Do you have your eye on someone’s harvest?

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love it when the cooler temps roll in, nudging the leaves to swap their tender green leaves for vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red. This transformation is a beautiful display of artistry by the good Lord above. 

It’s also the season when many farmers gather the crops they’ve sown and faithfully cultivated. This gathering period compels me to reflect on what God has placed in my life to nurture. 

Some of these things I have seen grow and mature, bearing beautiful fruit. Others are still in the budding stage and show great promise, while a few have yet to produce any buds at all. One area, in particular, I have poured into and prayed over for years. I long to see fruit in this area, but there isn’t a bud to speak of, so I do my best to continue with what God’s called me to and wait for signs of growth. 

But waiting is tough. Recently I was reminded of just how hard waiting can be when someone’s post on social media captured my attention. It was a celebratory announcement containing details of the great things they were reaping from an area in their lives where I was still waiting for good things to sprout. 

When those around me are harvesting fruit, and I’m in a season of waiting, I find that I can quickly become disheartened as I begin to compare my results to theirs. I eye their bountiful harvest and begin to scrutinize the area in my life that has yet to produce fruit. I wonder where I’ve gone wrong. Why haven’t I experienced the same results? Would I ever see good things come from this area?  

Maybe you’re wrestling with similar thoughts of comparison. 

If you are discouraged by someone else’s harvest, I want to encourage you to keep your eyes on God while you are in this season of waiting. His plans for the area you long to yield from may not align with your timetable, but you can trust his timing and methods are better and for our good. 

It’s tempting to compare what’s going on in our lives to what’s happening in someone else’s. But we must remember that God’s path differs for each of us. We will not reap fruit in every area of our lives at the same time or pace as someone else, nor will our harvests look the same. 

Stay faithful to what God has you doing, my friends. He sees your good work. Continue pouring into the people God has placed on your path and care for the things you’ve been called to nurture. As Paul says in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (NIV) Please don’t give up! Stay close to Jesus, keep pressing on with what God has called you to do, and trust HIM with the results.