Don’t Faint

 January19, 2021

Since we are often slow to understand, the Bible is filled with illustrations of how God works in this world. Ordinary events of life are never merely ordinary. They are windows to the eternal, and God wants us to look out through them to see beyond what these mortal eyes can see. Take for example, farming. No, not the mammoth-scale agri-industrial farms such as Monsanto operate. In the Bible, farming was entirely small-scale; something nearly everyone knew from personal experience. The language reflects this down-to-earth life that has become a foreign tongue to many of us.

In 2 Corinthians 9:10, St. Paul offers a blessing: “Now may he who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” T.D. Jakes recently preached on this text, noting that God supplies seed to the sower, not the saver. It is an important distinction. In verse 8, he reminds us that “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work.” The “alls” jump out at me. This isn’t bare minimum survival; God is able to do “exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). 

It is always tempting to limit God to what we can figure out in our finite human reasoning. So we pray confidently that God will heal someone’s cold, but add “if it be Thy will” when the person has aggressive cancer. We hedge our bets. So we stockpile for a rainy day when God tells us to sow abundantly. We lack the faith of Psalm 126:5-6. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” 

The scene is like this. The small subsistence farmer has his spring seed in a sack in the corner of the house. It’s late winter, and the food stores are running low. His children are crying with hunger as he eyes the seed. His tears mingle with theirs as he tells them they cannot dig into that bulging sack of grain; if they do, there will be nothing to plant in the spring. Spring comes; their little bellies are swollen, but he takes that precious seed and scatters it on the ground. He doesn’t know if the weather will cooperate, but he casts the seed, tears streaming down his face, sowing in the hope that there will be joy at harvest time. 

I’ve never known such straightened times, but I can imagine hearing Paul’s words, knowing how precarious life can be, and wondering if it’s really true that God will supply and multiply whatever I give away, whether he really is sufficient.

Then there is Galatians 6:9— “let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” “Well-doing” is like seed; we have to give it away if we want a harvest at the end of this season of life. You would think it easy to do well, but the sharp retort, the snappy comeback, the desire to get even, is much easier than doing good to those who ill treat us. Jesus told us to bless those who persecute us, to do good to those who speak evil of us. In all the political rhetoric flying around these days, I hear very little blessing being offered. 

Tonight, I’ve been trying to get resources to some international friends who are suffering from their government’s reaction to the pandemic. People are literally going hungry, and the country is suffering from years of mismanagement. Every avenue I’ve tried has ended in a closed door. It’s frustrating to not be able to help them, and tempting to just forget the whole matter. Until I remember this word: I can only reap if I faint not, ie. refuse to give up. God is able to do “exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think,” so even if I can’t figure out how to make this happen, the path is clear to my Heavenly Father. The harvest is worth the tears and frustration, so I keep sowing. God didn’t bless me so I can keep it to myself. There is a way; I just haven’t yet found it. When I do, there will be great praise and rejoicing. Until then, there will be great prayers and I’ll just keep sowing my way through the frustration.